With more questions arising around the COVID-19 variant, a B.C. government advisor warns that there may be a need for stronger restrictions, and a possible B.C. lockdown.
Daniel Coombs is a mathematician who works with the B.C. government as well as the B.C. Centre for Disease Control. He says that based on his calculations, the U.K. variant brings a dangerous time ahead. He also warns that it’s just a matter of time that the variant starts to spread here.
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Because the transmission rate of the variant is thought to be much higher and faster, the concern is that if it gets a “foothold” here in B.C. we will see the counts rising very quickly.
“Just to remind everybody that that level of restrictions has led to a slow decrease in the number of cases of COVID that we have here. So when this new strain turns up, it could be a new chapter for the pandemic in British Columbia just because of its much higher transmissibility.”
Coombs says that tighter restrictions, including a B.C. lockdown, will give the province a fighting chance to prevent a third wave of the virus.
“I am very happy to very hear premier Horgan talking about increased restrictions even in travel within Canada. I think that’s entirely appropriate at the moment,” says Coombs.
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Coombs says that once a high proportion of the population has been vaccinated, we should see less hospitalizations and deaths.
He describes the incoming of the variant and the vaccination roll-out as a race. Essentially it’s a race between providing enough vaccinations to create herd immunity and the incoming of the new variant.
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