Ontario has confirmed three new positive cases of coronavirus, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the province to 11.
The new cases involve a woman, 34, in York Region, and woman, 51, and her husband, 69, in Ajax. Both women had just returned from Iran.
York Region public health officials have begun a search for anyone who might have come in contact with one of the cases, either in the air or on a GO bus to Richmond Hill.
As of Saturday, there were 20 confirmed coronavirus cases in Canada. The number includes eight in B.C. and one in Quebec. There have been no deaths.
Dr. David Williams, Ontario’s chief medical officer of health, said in a news release on Saturday that the first three cases of coronavirus found in Ontario have been resolved, with each of those patients having had two consecutive negative tests at least 24 hours apart.
Of the cases announced on Saturday, the 34-year-old woman “with a travel history to Iran” went to Mackenzie Health, a Richmond Hill, Ont., hospital, on Thursday. York Region Public Health had contacted the hospital and arranged a time for the woman to go to its emergency department.
York officials are set to hold a 4 p.m. ET news conference. You can watch live below:
She was wearing a mask when she arrived at the hospital.
Patients in self-isolation
Williams said the woman arrived at the hospital with a dry cough, runny nose, shortness of breath and headache and was put on “airborne/droplet/contact” precautions.
“Due to the low severity of symptoms and the condition of the patient, the patient was not admitted to hospital. The patient is in self-isolation, per protocols, where she remains,” Williams said in a news release on Saturday.
In the second case announced on Saturday, the 51-year-old woman returned from Iran on Feb. 22 and went to an Ajax clinic on Friday with a cough, body aches and chills. She was masked and isolated.
Durham Region Health Department contacted Lakeridge Health Ajax Pickering hospital and arranged for a time for the woman to arrive.
She arrived at the hospital wearing a mask and was tested for the virus. She was discharged from the hospital, sent home and went into self-isolation, where she remains.
Her 69-year-old husband, meanwhile, also tested positive for the virus on Friday. He had a cough, but did not go to Iran. He accompanied his wife to the Ajax clinic and Lakeridge Health Ajax Pickering, where he was given a mask and isolated. He was tested for the virus, discharged and sent home.
He has also been put in self-isolation, where he remains.
Ontario preparing for ‘potential of local spread’
Williams said the Ontario government is carefully monitoring the situation and encourages residents to keep informed on developments concerning the virus.
“At this time the virus is not circulating locally,” Williams said. “However, given the global circumstances, Ontario is actively working with city and health partners to plan for the potential of local spread.”
Worldwide, the number of people sickened by the virus is about 85,000. There have been more than 2,900 deaths, most of them in China.
Dr. David Williams, Ontario’s chief medical officer, says: ‘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.’ (Pierre-Olivier Bernatchez/CBC)
In the first case announced on Saturday, the Regional Municipality of York said the woman travelled from Iran on Tuesday with a layover in Denmark. She developed symptoms on the flight before she returned to Toronto.
The woman then took a GO bus from Toronto Pearson International Airport, Terminal 1, on Wednesday, at about 3:55 p.m. She was travelling eastbound, sitting in the upper deck, and her final destination was the Richmond Hill Centre Terminal.
People who were in the following areas may have been exposed to the positive case of coronavirus, the regional municipality says:
Passengers in the business class section of Qatar Airways flight QR 483 and QR 163.
Passengers in the business class section of Air Canada flight AC 883.
Riders on GO Bus number 40 eastbound and who sat on the upper deck of the bus on Wednesday from Pearson Airport to Richmond Hill Centre Terminal.
Anyone who was in these areas is urged to contact York Region Public Health at 1-800-361-5653, from Monday to Sunday, between the hours of 8:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., for further assessment.
“York Region Public Health continues active follow-up of all close contacts of this positive case,” the regional municipality said in the release.
“Individuals that were not in direct or close contact with the individual are not considered at risk of becoming infected. The risk to York Region residents continues to remain low and there is no evidence of community spread within York Region.”
Hospital was prepared
Mackenzie Health was prepared to receive a coronavirus case and “all the proper precautions” were already in place when the woman in the first case arrived, according to Dr. Danny Chen, lead in infection prevention and control for the hospital, in a memo to staff obtained by CBC News.
He thanked the emergency department for “promptly identifying and isolating” the person.
“It is understandable that news of a presumptive positive case here at our hospital may cause concern for you. Because of the protocols in place, there were no staff, patient or visitor exposures related to this case,” he told staff. “This reinforces the importance and effectiveness of our protocols.”
He said staff and patient safety is paramount.
“Although the situation surrounding COVID-19 continues to change and evolve — and more cases of COVID-19 will be identified going forward — what hasn’t changed is the fact that we’re prepared, and that staff and patient safety will always remain a priority at Mackenzie Health.”
Ontario’s new cases involve a woman, 34, in York Region, and woman, 51, and her husband, 69, in Ajax. Both women had just returned from Iran. (NIAID-RML/The Associated Press)
According to Chen, York Region Public Health contacted the hospital on Thursday before the person was sent to its emergency department.
Officials worked out a time for the person to go to the emergency department, the person arrived wearing a mask, presented symptoms of coronavirus and was immediately put on “airborne/droplet/contact” precautions, he said.
“A physician assessed the patient and determined that admission to the hospital was not required due to the condition of the patient and the low severity of their symptoms,” Chan said.
“The patient was advised to self-isolate until the test results were received and to return if symptoms worsened.”
The hospital received confirmation that the case was presumptive on Friday evening, he said. That case has since been determined to be positive.
In a news release on Saturday, the hospital said: “Hospital operations are running as normal.”
Demands for government intervention in Air Canada labour talks could negatively affect airline competition in Canada, the CEO of travel company Transat AT Inc. said.
“The extension of such an extraordinary intervention to Air Canada would be an undeniable competitive advantage to the detriment of other Canadian airlines,” Annick Guérard told analysts on an earnings conference call on Thursday.
“The time and urgency is now. It is time to restore healthy competition in Canada,” she added.
Air Canada has asked the federal government to be ready to intervene and request arbitration as early as this weekend to avoid disruptions.
Comments on the potential Air Canada pilot strike or lock out came as Transat reported third-quarter financial results.
Guérard recalled Transat’s labour negotiations with its flight attendants earlier this year, which the company said it handled without asking for government intervention.
The airline’s 2,100 flight attendants voted 99 per cent in favour of a strike mandate and twice rejected tentative deals before approving a new collective agreement in late February.
As the collective agreement for Air Transat pilots ends in June next year, Guérard anticipates similar pressure to increase overall wages as seen in Air Canada’s negotiations, but reckons it will come out “as a win, win, win deal.”
“The pilots are preparing on their side, we are preparing on our side and we’re confident that we’re going to come up with a reasonable deal,” she told analysts when asked about the upcoming negotiations.
The parent company of Air Transat reported it lost $39.9 million or $1.03 per diluted share in its quarter ended July 31. The result compared with a profit of $57.3 million or $1.49 per diluted share a year earlier.
Revenue totalled $736.2 million, down from $746.3 million in the same quarter last year.
On an adjusted basis, Transat says it lost $1.10 per share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of $1.10 per share a year earlier.
It attributed reduced revenues to lower airline unit revenues, competition, industry-wide overcapacity and economic uncertainty.
Air Transat is also among the airlines facing challenges related to the recall of Pratt & Whitney turbofan jet engines for inspection and repair.
The recall has so far grounded six aircraft, Guérard said on the call.
“We have agreed to financial compensation for grounded aircraft during the 2023-2024 period,” she said. “Alongside this financial compensation, Pratt & Whitney will provide us with two additional spare engines, which we intend to monetize through a sell and lease back transaction.”
Looking ahead, the CEO said she expects consumer demand to remain somewhat uncertain amid high interest rates.
“We are currently seeing ongoing pricing pressure extending into the winter season,” she added. Air Transat is not planning on adding additional aircraft next year but anticipates stability.
“(2025) for us will be much more stable than 2024 in terms of fleet movements and operation, and this will definitely have a positive effect on cost and customer satisfaction as well,” the CEO told analysts.
“We are more and more moving away from all the disruption that we had to go through early in 2024,” she added.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
