TORONTO —
A man who was diagnosed as Canada’s first coronavirus patient was discharged from a Toronto hospital Friday morning, officials said.
In a statement, Sunnybrook Hospital said that the man’s status has continued to improve throughout the week “to the point where he no longer required in-patient care.”
“Sunnybrook has liaised with Toronto Public Health, who will continue to monitor the patient in his home,” the hospital said.
The man, who is in his 50s, was taken to Sunnybrook Hospital on Jan. 23, the day after he returned from travelling in Wuhan, China.
His wife also tested positive for the virus, known as 2019-nCoV, but has been recovering at home in self-isolation.
Both patients were aboard China Southern Airlines Flight CZ311 on Jan. 22, which landed at Toronto Pearson International Airport from Guangzhou. Federal health officials said last weekend that the man showed mild symptoms aboard the flight and that public health workers were in contact with those who travelled on the same plane.
Twenty-seven people are being investigated for possible coronavirus infection, Ontario health officials said on Thursday, but no further positive cases have been reported.
The people being investigated are either brought to a hospital or ordered to self-isolate in their homes, officials said.
A third Canadian case of 2019-nCoV was confirmed in British Columbia.
The World Health Organization declared the outbreak a global emergency on Thursday after the number of confirmed cases spiked. More than 9,500 people have been diagnosed with 2019-nCoV worldwide and at least 170 people have died in China as a result of the virus.
Experts have expressed concern after a few isolated cases of human-to-human transmission on other countries.
With files from the Canadian Press
