Enhanced infection-control measures are being put in place amid concerns about the international spread of coronavirus, which China says can be transmitted between humans. Four people have been killed so far and more than 200 have fallen ill, including a handful outside of China.
B.C.’s Provincial Health Officer said she has “no doubt” there will be cases in Canada. But Bonnie Henry noted that officials are better prepared to deal with this virus than they were with the SARS outbreak in 2003, when 44 people in Canada died.
In this column, André Picard argues that no country has learned more from SARS missteps than Canada.
On Tuesday, Chinese state media said the number of deaths has risen to six and confirmed cases to 291. The World Health Organization is holding an emergency meeting tomorrow to assess the risk and determine whether it constitutes a public-health emergency.