As the number of COVID-19 cases continues to rise in Italy, Iran, and South Korea, there's a new revelation concerning this disease in British Columbia.

According to Air Canada, a passenger onboard a flight from Montreal to Vancouver earlier this month has tested positive.

The case was confirmed on February 22—over a week after the person was on the plane, which departed from Pierre Elliott Trudeau Airport.

The airline has not revealed which flight carried the passenger who was later diagnosed. The person passed through Vancouver International Airport on February 14.

On February 20, Health Minister Adrian Dix and provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry announced a sixth presumptive case of COVID-19.

It involved a woman in her 30s who had travelled from Iran and who lives in the Fraser Health Region. She's currently in isolation.

It was the first B.C. case that couldn't be linked directly to the Chinese city of Wuhan, which is the epicentre of the epidemic.

Whenever there's a presumptive case, the sample is sent to the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg for confirmation.

Fraser Health has distributed a letter saying that people who were in contact with the person onboard the Air Canada flight "may have attended schools in the region and are currently isolated".

"These contacts were not showing any signs or symptoms of illness while attending school, and remain well," Fraser Health stated. "There is no public health risk at schools in the region. There is also no evidence that novel coronavirus is circulating in the community."