TORONTO - A Toronto hospital says it has a presumptive positive case of the deadly virus from China, Canada's first case.
Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre said today it is "caring for a patient who has a confirmed case of the novel coronavirus that originated in Wuhan, China.''
Dr. David Williams, Chief Medical Officer of Health, said they are 95 per cent sure it is the virus after lab testing was done in Ontario.
Officials said the man is his 50's and recently flew from Wuhan, China to Guangzhou, China and then on to Toronto on January 23rd.
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Mayor John Tory issued a statement following today's announcement. He goes on to reassure the public that “health officials are clear that the risk to residents continues to remain low.”
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Meantime, as a result of the outbreak in China, airports in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver have increased security measures and added a health screening question to electronic customs kiosks.
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At least 41 people in China have died as a result of the new coronavirus. More than 12 hundred others - mainly in China - have contracted the virus, however people in other parts of the world have been impacted. Today, France announced three confirmed cases. Australia and Malaysia reported their first cases and Japan confirmed its third.
For more information on the new coronavirus, the province of Ontario has set up a dedicated website: https://www.ontario.ca/page/wuhan-novel-coronavirus-2019-ncov
With files from the Associated Press