“The individual is stable and is hospitalized” the statement added, according to Reuters.
In a news conference on Saturday, Ontario’s chief medical officer announced that a “presumptive positive” case of coronavirus has been confirmed at Toronto’s Sunnybrook hospital, marking the first such case in Canada, reports Global News.
Health officials say they were made aware of the case on Saturday afternoon. The patient is a 50-year-old man who had traveled to Wuhan, China, the epicenter of the viral outbreak. The patient was said to be in stable condition. Toronto health officials say they are working closely with Canada’s public health agency to “prevent any spread” of the virus.
Dr. Eileen De Villa, Toronto’s medical officer of health, said right now, officials are focused on finding out who the patient may have come into contact with and what types of settings they may have been exposed to. It is not known when the patient came back from his visit to Wuhan.
“It is understandable that people may be concerned with today’s news of our first case and that people may worry,” Dr. de Villa said in a press release, according to CTV News Canada.
“But I assure you that based on the lessons we learned from SARS now 17 years ago, and given our experiences during the flu pandemic of 2009 and more recently, with Middle Eastern respiratory syndrome, we have learned, shared knowledge and built a stronger public health system that is ready to respond, as needed.”
China’s National Health Commission confirmed Saturday that the death toll from the new virus had climbed to 41, with the number of people infected rising to 1,287.
