Ontario coronavirus case 'not unlikely,' but risk low: Elliott
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Ontario has tested four people who reported coronavirus symptoms following travel in China but all proved negative, public health officials say.
The province that was devastated by SARS more than 15 years ago is bracing for the possible arrival of a new coronavirus that has killed at least 17 people in Wuhan, China.
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Health Minister Christine Elliott said she remains confident that the risk to Ontarians is low, and that federal and provincial public health officials are doing everything possible to prevent the spread of the infection.
“It’s not unlikely that we will receive cases, that this is a new and emerging situation, but I think that it’s really important for everyone to know that we have the necessary processes and procedures and safeguards in place to make sure that we protect all of the people of Ontario,” Elliot said.
At a special meeting Wednesday, the government added novel coronavirus as a designated reportable disease in Ontario, she said.
A slow-footed response to the SARS outbreak in Toronto was blamed for the spread of that deadly coronavirus.
Some health-care workers told the Toronto Sun’s Liz Braun that more needs to be done, including thermal scanners at airports.
Dr. David Williams, Ontario’s chief medical officer of health, said an estimated 1,500-4,000 people arrive daily in the province from China but there are no direct flights from Wuhan, ground zero for the new coronavirus.
Signage and staff training are being implemented at airports to provide screening, he said.
Ontario has a well-documented issue with so-called hallway medicine, hospitals so overcrowded that emergency room patients are lined up in their corridors.
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Elliott acknowledged that some hospitals are over 100% capacity but said there are measures in place to identify and isolate any potential case.
“Staff will be given the necessary protective equipment to protect both themselves as well as to prevent transmission of the virus,” she said. “It’s not unlikely that we will receive cases that this is a new and emerging situation but I think that it’s really important for everyone to know that we have the necessary processes and procedures and safeguards in place to make sure that we protect all of the people of Ontario.”
Dr. Barbara Yaffe, Ontario’s associate chief medical officer of health, said travellers who develop a fever, cold or other symptoms of an infections after visiting Wuhan should report their illness to health officials.
Cases are confirmed through throat and nasal swabs, and a result is currently determined in about 24 hours, Yaffe said.
aartuso@postmedia.com
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