DOWNHILL

Whistler Outbreak Turns B.C. Into Largest Variant Hotspot Outside Brazil

An outbreak tied to the posh ski resort has turned British Columbia into the largest hotspot for the Brazilian variant outside Brazil.

The posh Canadian ski village of Whistler has been shut down after 877 confirmed cases of the COVID-19 variant P1 have turned British Columbia into the largest variant hot spot outside Brazil, where P1 was first identified. Canada, which is buckling under a deadly third wave of the pandemic, has enforced tighter restrictions as it struggles to launch a nationwide vaccine campaign. It is unclear just how the variant arrived at the ski resort, where the first 84 people who tested positive had not reported any travel outside Canada. Since it was first identified in British Columbia, the P1 outbreak has spread to neighboring provinces and is suspected of infecting 21 of Vancouver’s Canucks pro hockey team players.