Dr. Bonnie Henry

BC will start a clinical trial on a COVID-19 drug therapy approved by Health Canada on an emergency basis for patients who are at risk of severe illness.

Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says the trial on the drug bamlanivimab is expected to get underway by the beginning of March.

The antibody drug has been studied elsewhere, and Henry says it would be given to patients within a certain time period after diagnosis.

Health Minister Adrian Dix says the trial will be done at Surrey Memorial Hospital with the help of a one-million-dollar donation from a BC biotech company.

The drug has also been authorized for emergency use in the United States.

BC reported 1,236 new cases COVID-19 over three days and 13 more deaths, while there are now 40 cases of two faster-spreading variants that originated in the UK and South Africa.

Dr. Henry says 40 cases of COVID-19 variants have now been confirmed in BC, 25 of the variant first found in the UK and 15 cases of the one from South Africa.

She says all but one of the UK variant cases are linked to travel or close contacts with those who have travelled but it's unclear how four cases of the South Africa variant were acquired.