Weeks after finishing cancer treatment, B.C. premier tests positive for COVID-19

The premier of British Columbia says he's tested positive for COVID-19.

John Horgan confirmed the diagnosis Monday in a brief message on social media.

"Fortunately, my symptoms are mild and that is thanks to being fully vaccinated," he wrote on Twitter. "I’m following public health guidance, isolating and working from home until my symptoms resolve."

Horgan, who last spoke publicly Thursday, did not provide further details on his symptoms or when he found out he had the disease. At that time he told reporters he was taking precautions and so were those around him.

The premier recently finished treatment for throat cancer.

Treatments such as surgery and chemotherapy can weaken the immune system, and people with these diagnoses were prioritized during B.C.'s roll-out of the primary course of vaccine and subsequent booster shots.

Asked at the time about those who felt uneasy with restrictions lifting, Horgan said, “I do to a degree as well, because I've been compromised by the radiation treatments I've just gone through.”

Health Minster Adrian Dix told reporters at the legislature he spoke to the premier Monday morning as part of a regular briefing with Dr. Bonnie Henry.

“He was appreciative and understanding of the fact that his three doses of COVID-19 vaccine were making a real difference in his outcomes at this point,” said Dix of Horgan.

Dix added hospitalizations were rising – above 300 for the first time in weeks – as the number of people in critical care continued to dip.

B.C. dropped its mask mandate last month and may cancel the vaccine card later this week.

Dr. Anna Wolak, a family physician told CTV News, that where people are in close contact, indoors and vaccination rates low or unknown -- masks are a good idea.

“I think that's why I would like to see the mask mandate reinstated, at least for schools,” she said. “We're not sure what ventilation is like it's an indoor crowded area. We don't know the vaccination status of those of those in the classroom and we know that especially in ages five to 11, the two dose rate is appalling.”

Dix said not to expect any change in the provincial mask mandate Tuesday, when he and Dr. Bonnie Henry, will provide modeling and recommendations on fourth doses.

As for what the public should take away from the fact that the premier has tested positive for the virus, Dix was clear.

“The message is get vaccinated, the second message, get vaccinated,” Dix added.

As of Friday, the most recent data available, a total of 356,858 case of COVID-19 have been confirmed in B.C. through testing. The real total is likely much higher, as some are asymptomatic, and many are no longer eligible for a test.

Even self-reporting has changed recently in B.C. Those who test positive using at-home rapid antigen tests can no longer report their results to the province's centre for disease control.