B.C. Premier John Horgan has tested positive for COVID-19.
The premier said via Twitter that he tested positive Monday morning, but his symptoms are mild — “and that is thanks to being fully vaccinated.”
He said he’s following public health guidance, isolating and working from home until his symptoms resolve.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wished the premier a quick recovery on social media, writing: “sorry to hear, my friend.” Horgan, chair of the Council of the Federation, met with Trudeau in Vancouver last week.
In January, Horgan completed radiation for throat cancer, and he returned to the legislature in February.
The premier has continued to wear a mask in public despite the mask mandate being dropped in B.C. on March 12, saying he is immune-compromised and needs the extra protection.
The premier, who has been re-elected four times as MLA since 2005 and was sworn in as premier in July 2017, was busy last week with several high-profile events involving travel.
On Tuesday, Horgan met with Trudeau in Vancouver, where the two leaders discussed the 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan: Clean Air, Strong Economy, announced earlier that day by Trudeau at the GLOBE Forum in Vancouver.
On Wednesday, Horgan was back in Victoria at a press conference with First Nations and Métis leaders at the B.C. legislature introducing an action plan on the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act.
Omicron variants of the COVID-19 virus typically have a median three-day incubation period.
The premier did not say whether he will be eligible for available treatments for the virus.
Green MP Elizabeth May, who represents Saanich-Gulf Islands, also announced that she tested positive for the virus on Thursday. May said she’s been in Ottawa since March 20, and in a post on her Twitter account, she described COVID-19 rates there as “crazy high.”
She said she isolated herself when she started feeling unwell, posting: “This illness is no joke. I do not think I'll be hospitalized, but very sick. And angry. Too many people unmasked.”
On Friday, Health Minister Adrian Dix said the province is preparing an update for Tuesday on potentially making a fourth COVID-19 dose available to vulnerable people in British Columbia — for example, people in long-term care. COVID-19 disproportionately affects people who are elderly and have existing health problems, including being immune-compromised.
Health officials are expected to report three days’ worth of COVID-19 statistics later Monday. On Friday, the province passed the 3,000 mark for deaths related to the virus since the pandemic was declared in March 2019.
In B.C., almost 91.1 per cent of eligible people 12 and older in B.C. have received two doses of COVID-19 vaccine and 57.5 per cent have had a booster shot.
Last month, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry announced that expects the B.C. Vaccine Card won’t be needed to enter non-essential businesses and venues effective April 8, citing a significant reduction in COVID-19 hospitalizations and high rates of vaccination.
