TORONTO - Canadian health officials have confirmed the country's first case of the new coronavirus from China, with one man diagnosed in Toronto.
But officials continue to stress the danger to Canadians is still low.
Canada's chief public health officer, Dr. Theresa Tam says the man in his fifties is currently in stable condition at Sunnybrook Hospital.
She says he showed mild symptoms on a flight that brought him back to the country from China earlier this week.
Officials say he was on China Southern Airlines Flight number CZ311 that travelled from Guangzhou to Toronto on Wednesday, January 22nd. The man was admitted to hospital the next day.
Tam said authorities are now working to help track some of his fellow passengers, who were within a 2 -meter radius of the man's seat and anyone who may have served him.
Tam added that this case demonstrates that the country's public health protocols are working.
At a morning news conference, Tam also cautioned that more cases could be expected to show up in Canada.
Despite her concession, she adds close, prolonged human-to-human contact is usually necessary for the disease to spread.
There are more than 2000 cases so far in the world, including three in France and four in the United States.
At least 56 people have died of the virus in China.
With files from Heather Seaman