Ontario health officials say the system put in place to manage the spread of coronavirus is “working quite well” following word of a new presumptive case of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel virus, in Toronto over the weekend.
Dr. David Williams, Ontario’s chief medical officer of health, Dr. Barbara Yaffe, Ontario’s associate chief medical officer of health, and Dr. Eileen de Villa, Toronto’s medical officer of health, spoke to media at Queen’s Park Monday morning to give an update on the case.
De Villa said during the press conference that a woman in her 20s arrived in Canada from China on Friday and went to North York General Hospital in Toronto with an intermittent cough. She had travelled to the epicentre of the virus.
“In that travel to China, we know it did include some travel to Hubei province and to Wuhan in particular,” she said.
De Villa said the woman was tested for the new virus and was sent home for self-isolation because her symptoms were “resolving” and she was doing “quite well.”
Officials said the woman’s local tests came back positive for the virus on Sunday and the sample has been sent to the National Microbiology Lab in Winnipeg for confirmation.
Patient has had ‘very, very limited exposure to others’
Since arriving in Toronto, De Villa says the woman has had “very, very limited exposure to others.”
“Our staff at Toronto Public Health [is] following up directly to connect with this individual on a very regular basis and we are monitoring her symptoms,” she said.
Officials said the province is co-ordinating with local public health units to ensure that they will contact and monitor passengers who sat close to the woman on the plane.
‘System is working’
This is the province’s fourth case and the third in Toronto, however, health officials say the process put in place to manage the spread of the virus is working well.
“The whole process that has been followed from start to finish here shows that, in fact, the system is working quite well to keep people safe,” De Villa said.
She said the patient was able to identified their symptoms and travel history to officials, the staff followed the appropriate precautions, and the patient wore a mask and limited her exposure to others.
“At this time, the risk here in Toronto continues to be low,” she said.
Ontario’s first three cases ‘resolved’
According to the province, Ontario’s first three cases of the new coronavirus are all “resolved,” which means each of those patients have had two consecutive negative tests at least 24 hours apart.
Three people in Ontario had previously been diagnosed with COVID-19, including a married couple in Toronto and a Western University student in London, Ont., after all of them had recently returned from travelling in China.
