COVID-19 pandemic in British Columbia

The COVID-19 pandemic in British Columbia forms part of an ongoing worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a novel infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). On January 28, 2020, British Columbia became the second province to confirm a case of COVID-19 in Canada.^[2] The first case of infection involved a patient who had recently returned from Wuhan, Hubei, China.^[3] The first case of community transmission in Canada was confirmed in British Columbia on March 5, 2020.^[4]

British Columbians have taken numerous emergency measures in an effort to reduce the spread of the virus, such as social distancing and self-isolation. On March 23, 2020, British Columbian Premier John Horgan announced the details of the province-wide emergency relief plan, which includes income support, tax relief and direct funding in order to mitigate economic effects of the pandemic.^[5]