If the variants take hold as in parts of Ontario, a whole new pandemic could get underway: Dr. Bonnie Henry

BC's top doctor is appealing for continued vigilance with COVID-19 public health orders as officials try to understand the prevalence of the UK and South African variants and how they entered communities.

Doctor Bonnie Henry says that's part of the work being done before pandemic restrictions that have been in place since November are loosened as the province anticipates an increasing number of vaccines to be delivered in the coming weeks.

Dr. Henry says that if the variants take hold as in parts of Ontario, a whole new pandemic could get underway so it's important not to undo the progress that's led to lower cases of COVID-19.

She says over 154,000 people have received the first dose of a vaccine.

A mass immunization program is expected to be launched in March.