Article content continued

Concerns have been shared recently by both doctors and members of the public in B.C. that some of the data being seen suggests we are on a track that matches what has happened in Italy, but Dr. Bonnie Henry said she didn’t believe that was the case.

“I do not believe we’re on the same direct trajectory as Italy,” she said. “We also put in measures at a point in time that is quite different from when they put in measures. And, you know, I really do believe that, like the U.S. as well, our testing strategy early on helped us better understand what was happening in our community.”

That officials in Northern Italy and in Washington state didn’t have access to the same kind of data early on meant they were playing catch-up she, she added.

“Clearly we have community spread in B.C. and have had for some time. We still have a better understanding where that spread is and how to manage it than if we had not done the amount of testing that we had done ahead of time.

She expected to be able to share modelling of the current situation in B.C. prepared by the provincial centre for disease control later in the week.

Health Minister Adrian Dix reiterated that the public health measures in place at the moment — like limiting large gatherings and ordering most businesses closed — are essential and that people must continue to stay at home as best they can while practising social distancing when they are in public.

“This is not a quick fix but the measures we take now will have an impact on the outcome,” he said. “The next few weeks will be very very difficult … it will be some time until we see some change.”