More Canadians stranded on a cruise ship, a B.C. case of ‘community spreading’ and an infection in the Vatican
From Toronto to Sin City
Toronto subway users were checking their calendars extra closely on Friday after the Toronto Transit Commission announced the city’s latest confirmed COVID-19 patient had been travelling the city’s subway, buses and/or streetcars. For three days, the man in his 40s had used the TTC for his morning and evening commute earlier before visiting a local emergency department. He’s now in self-isolation at home.
TTC COVID-19 update: pic.twitter.com/giNq8e1pgl
— TTC Customer Service (@TTChelps) March 6, 2020
The man had just returned from a trip to Las Vegas—the tourist hub which only got its first confirmed case of the coronavirus on Thursday, prompting fears of community spread in Sin City. U.S. President Donald Trump signed an $8.3 billion emergency aid package on Friday to combat the coronavirus—with approximately $3 billion going towards vaccine research.
Hopefully, a large chunk of that money goes towards testing—and fast— considering the Atlantic contacted public health departments in all 50 states, plus D.C., and could confirm a total of only 1,895 people had been tested across America. Ontario alone, by comparison, has tested or is investigating potential infections of a total of 1,763 patients.
It’s hard under the circumstances to process Trump’s earlier suggestions that the coronavirus will disappear “like a miracle.” The number of global confirmed cases surpassed 100,000 on Friday—including the first confirmed case in the walled city-state of the Vatican. Fear not, however: the Pope is okay—though he does have a bit of a cold.
Global confirmed cases: 101,781
Deaths caused by COVID-19: 3,460
Coronavirus in Canada: 50-plus
Canada has 49 confirmed cases of COVID-19 to date, though presumptive positive samples coming out of Quebec and Alberta, which are being tested at the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg, would put Canada at 51 cases, spanning four provinces. While no one has died in Canada to date, one patient is reportedly in critical condition.
And now with B.C.’s first case of “community spreading”—meaning the patient didn’t have any recent travel history or links to someone who has COVID-19—Premier John Horgan announced Friday the province would open four new testing labs and appointed a deputy minister’s committee that will help set the government’s strategy.
That will likely include how best to deal with the Grand Princess cruise ship—which is currently sitting off the California coast with about 3,500 people quarantined on board, including 235 Canadians—which was scheduled to dock in Vancouver on April 2. It was held off the coast of California while passengers were tested; as of Friday, 21 were positive for the virus.
Meanwhile, the federal government announced on Friday its planned COVID-19 funding increase from $7 million to $27 million.
Some rare—and welcome—good news
The silver lining, if there was one, came out of China, where the province of Hubei announced it had zero new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours—excluding the capital of Wuhan, the city at the epicentre of the outbreak.
Meanwhile, Chinese researchers are predicting that mainland China could soon have zero new coronavirus cases within a matter of weeks, except for Hubei, which has 67,000 people infected, of whom two-thirds have officially recovered.
What to do if you think you have COVID-19
Do you have a fever? A dry cough? General fatigue? These are the most common symptoms of COVID-19, according to the World Health Organization, while others can experience nasal congestion, headache, runny nose, sore throat or just feel unwell.
For milder cases, it might feel like you have the flu. Most patients who test positive for COVID-19 have recently travelled to a region where the virus is spreading—or they’ve been around someone who tested positive. But there is the possibility of community spreading. That’s why the most effective preventative measure is to wash hands regularly with soap, and cover your mouth when you sneeze or cough.
If you’re sick, don’t go to work. Don’t take a bus. Don’t go anywhere that may require close contact with others. And call your local public health department. Or call your health-care provider. “But call first,” says David Williams, Ontario’s chief medical officer of health. “Don’t go to the waiting room—especially if you’ve got symptoms.”
