Four more cases of the 2019 novel coronavirus were confirmed in Ontario Sunday, all of them in the Greater Toronto Area and all of them among people who recently travelled out of the country — but not to familiar COVID-19 "hot zones" like China, Italy or Iran.
Ontario's Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. David Williams, announced in a press release Sunday afternoon that a female in her 40's had tested positive for the deadly virus after returning to Toronto from Colorado on March 2.
Later in the day, Williams confirmed two more positive cases within the city — one involving a woman in her 60's who had recently travelled to France, the other involving a man in his 60's who had been in Washington, D.C.
Both of these patients attended hospitals in Toronto on March 7 while experiencing symptoms consistent with the coronavirus.
MEDIA RELEASE: Ontario Confirms New Positive Cases of COVID-19. More info: https://t.co/FrdQDp2jFF
— Toronto Public Health (@TOPublicHealth) March 9, 2020
Peel Public Health announced similarly on Sunday that a man in his 50's had tested positive for COVID-19 in Brampton after returning to Ontario from Germany on March 7.
As of Sunday night, 32 cases of the virus had been confirmed in Ontario. Four of these patients have already recovered from their illnesses, while another 55 people in the province remain under investigation.
"As a result of the coordinated efforts of our health care and public health system, all individuals who have tested positive have been quickly assessed and isolated," reads a press release issued by Ontario's Ministry of Health on Sunday evening.
"At this time, the virus is not circulating locally. However, given the global circumstances, Ontario is actively working with city and health partners to plan for the potential of local spread."
To limit the spread of the #COVID19, some countries have implemented special entry/exit restrictions. Before travelling, check with your airline or tour operator if the situation will disrupt your travel plans. https://t.co/poL1pcMpx9 pic.twitter.com/esM67G260o
— Travel.gc.ca (@TravelGoC) March 7, 2020
Toronto Public Health (TPH) reported on Sunday night that it is now monitoring 15 confirmed cases within city limits and that it continues "to work with our provincial and federal health colleagues along with airports in response to this situation."
TPH is asking anyone who has travelled from Hubei Province, China, or Iran within the last 14 days "or have had close contact with a person ill with COVID-19" to self-isolate and contact public health officials.
Across Canada, 62 cases of COVID-19 have now been confirmed. The federal government maintains, however, that the public health risk associated with the virus is "low" from coast-to-coast.
A total of 105,586 laboratory-confirmed cases of the virus have been recorded globally, according to the World Health Organization — 24,727 of them outside China.
In China, where the outbreak originated, 3,100 people have died as the result of contracting the coronavirus. Some 484 more fatalities have been reported across 101 countries elsewhere in the world as of March 8.
by Lauren O'Neil via blogTO
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