Canada’s health minister says the risk of a coronavirus outbreak in Canada remains low, despite a “presumptive” case confirmed in Toronto.
Ontario health officials say a patient was admitted to the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto on Thursday with flu-like symptoms and a recent travel history to Wuhan, China.
He has since been put into isolation and is under care. The case is currently being tested at the National Microbiology Lab.
On Sunday, the Public Health Agency of Canada said the testing should be finished within 24 hours.
Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s chief medical officer of health, says the risk of an outbreak in Canada remains low.
“The province has indicated that the patient has been managed with four appropriate infection and prevention control protocols, so the risk of onward spread is low,” she said.
“Nevertheless, it would not be unexpected that there would be more cases imported into Canada in the near term given global travel patterns.”
Tam says a test for the virus has been developed, and Health Canada remains on alert.
Health Minister Patty Hajdu encourages Canadians who have travelled to affected areas in China and are experiencing flu-like symptoms to contact their doctors right away.
Hajdu says the country learned a lot from the SARS outbreak in 2003, and hospitals more than equipped to deal with similar outbreaks.
“We’ve also put into place measures at the Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver international airports reminding travellers to inform a border services officer if they are experiencing flu-like symptoms,” she said.
There have been more than 2,800 cases of coronavirus reported so far and the death toll has risen to at least 80.
Wuhan, the epicentre of the coronavirus, has been put under lockdown, and several countries are asking their citizens to evacuate the city.
Concerned New Brunswickers can get updated information on the virus via a new website created by the provincial government.
