A fifth case of COVID-19 has been reported in Ontario and is awaiting confirmation via testing at the National Microbiology Lab in Winnipeg, provincial health officials said Wednesday.
The woman in her 60s went to the emergency department at Toronto’s Sunnybrook Hospital on Monday, said Dr. Eileen de Villa, the city’s chief medical officer, at a morning news conference.
She had recently travelled to Iran and became ill after she returned to Canada on Feb. 15, de Villa said. The woman had a cough, sore throat, body aches and an occasional fever.
She was isolated as hospital staff tested for the novel coronavirus before she was discharged. She is now at home in self-isolation, de Villa said.
Health officials are monitoring the situation and following up with the woman’s close contacts, she added, and a sample has been sent to the lab in Winnipeg for further testing.
It’s too early to say whether authorities will try to contact other passengers on her flight to Toronto, de Villa said, as a risk assessment of her movements since returning to Canada is still underway.
The case is the first in Ontario involving a person with no history of travel to China.
A woman in her 20s who had also travelled to Iran recently tested positive for coronavirus in B.C., but de Villa said the two cases are not connected.
Watch The National‘s documentary on the spread of coronavirus:
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This is the 12th case of COVID-19 in Canada, but the risk of contracting the virus in the country is still low, said Dr. David Williams, Ontario’s chief medical officer, at the news conference.
He added Canadian authorities are working to contain the coronavirus where it shows up, but are ready to respond if it spreads.
“We have been preparing since day one,” Williams said. “We ramp up and we ramp down, we don’t just turn it on and off.”
Ontario has identified four previous cases in the province. While three of them have since been cleared, another new case was diagnosed in Toronto last weekend.
Officials said that patient, a woman in her 20s, had recently returned from China and is considered to have a mild case of the illness.
Meanwhile, seven cases have been identified in British Columbia.
The virus has infected 80,000 globally and recently spread to Iran, where there have been 139 confirmed cases and 19 deaths, according to state television.
Watch an infection control specialist who says WHO is dragging its feet on calling COVID-19 a pandemic:
Dr. Michael Gardam of Toronto’s Humber River Hospital says we all need to get ready for the virus gaining a foothold in Canada. 9:30
MONTREAL – One expert says entry-level pay under the tentative deal between Air Canada and its pilots could be a stumbling block ahead of a union vote on the agreement.
Under their current contract, pilots earn far less in their first four years at the company before enjoying a big wage increase starting in year five.
The Air Line Pilots Association had been pushing to scrap the so-called “fixed rate” provision entirely.
But according to a copy of the contract summary obtained by The Canadian Press, the proposed deal announced Sunday would merely cut the four-year period of lower pay to two years.
John Gradek, who teaches aviation management at McGill University, says as many as 2,000 of Air Canada’s roughly 5,200 active pilots may earn entry-level wages following a recent hiring surge.
After the airline averted a strike this week, Gradek says the failure to ditch the pay grade restrictions could prompt pushback from rank-and-file flight crew and jeopardize the deal, which is up for a vote next month.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2024.
ROME (AP) — Salvatore “Totò” Schillaci, the Italy striker who was top scorer at its home World Cup in 1990, has died. He was 59.
Schillaci had been hospitalized in Palermo following treatment for colon cancer.
The Palermo Civico hospital said in a statement that Schillacci died on Wednesday morning after being admitted 11 days ago.
Schillaci scored six goals for Italy during the 1990 World Cup. He came on as a substitute during Italy’s opener against Austria, scored in a 1-0 victory, and went on to earn the Golden Boot awarded to the tournament’s top scorer. He only scored one other goal for Italy in his career.
Italian soccer federation president Gabriele Gravina announced that a minute of silence would be held in memory of Schillaci before all games in the country for the rest of the week.
“The uncontrollable celebrations, in which his face was the symbol of shared joy, will remain forever part of Italian soccer (history),” Gravina said. “Totò was a great player, a symbol of tenacious desire and redemption. … His soccer was full of passion. And that fearless spirit made everyone appreciate him and will make him immortal.”
Schillaci also won the Golden Ball award at the 1990 World Cup as the tournament’s top player ahead of Lothar Matthaus and Diego Maradona.
Schillaci played for Messina, Juventus, Inter Milan and Japanese team Jubilo Iwata during his club career.
“You made an entire nation dream during the Magical Nights of Italia ’90,” Inter said on its social media channels.
West Germany won the 1990 World Cup, beating Argentina in the final, while Italy beat England for third place with a winning penalty kick from Schillaci.
Roberto Baggio, who scored Italy’s opening goal in the third-place match, wrote on Instagram, “Ciao my dear friend.”
Having been born and raised in Palermo, the Palermo soccer team announced that it would hold a public viewing of Schillaci at its Renzo Barbera stadium ahead of the funeral, the Gazzetta dello Sport reported.
French soccer player Wissam Ben Yedder will stay free ahead of his trial on charges of sexual assault while intoxicated, one of his lawyers told The Associated Press on Wednesday.
Marie Roumiantseva said Ben Yedder will remain under strict judicial supervision after a woman filed a lawsuit for sexual assault earlier this month.
The 34-year-old Ben Yedder, a prolific striker in the French league, was briefly detained then released after the alleged incident in his car on the French Riviera. Ben Yedder had been stopped by police after he first refused to do so. He was then put in a jail cell.
After he was summoned to appear in court on Oct. 15 and placed under judicial supervision, the Nice prosecutor’s office appealed the decision not to remand the player in custody. The investigative chamber of the Court of Appeal of Aix-en-Provence did not grant this request and kept Ben Yedder under judicial supervision.
Ben Yedder attended a hearing Tuesday during which he offered to go to rehab. He has admitted he drove while under the influence of alcohol but has denied any sexual assault.
In a separate legal case last year, Ben Yedder was charged with “rape, attempted rape and sexual assault” over another alleged incident in the south of France.
Ben Yedder has been without a club since his contract with Monaco expired at the end of last season.
