Ontario health officials say there is a second “presumptive” case of coronavirus in the province.
The wife of the province’s first case of Wuhan novel coronavirus has tested positive at Ontario’s public health laboratory, Dr. David Williams, chief medical officer of health, said in a statement Monday. Since arriving in Toronto with her husband, she has been in self-isolation, Dr. Williams said.
"We are working alongside Toronto Public Health, who has been in regular contact with the individual during their self-isolation period," Dr. Williams said. "Given the fact that she has been in self-isolation, the risk to Ontarians remains low."
An Ontario government official confirmed the second patient had also travelled to Wuhan.
Health officials confirmed the first “presumptive” case of coronavirus on Saturday. On Sunday, Canada’s chief public officer of health Theresa Tam told a news conference that a Toronto man, who is the first person in the country to test positive for the SARS-like coronavirus, was symptomatic on an airplane last week that arrived in Toronto from Guangzhou. On Monday, the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg is expected to verify that the man has the coronavirus. Tests by Ontario’s public-health lab on Saturday said the man tested positive for it.
Health officials are working to contact passengers seated within a two-metre radius of the man to inform them of the risks and advise them to monitor for the development of any symptoms.
Global concern over the coronavirus, known as 2019-nCoV, has been mounting since Dec. 31, when Chinese officials first reported it to the World Health Organization. As of Sunday, the virus has sickened more than 2,000 and caused at least 80 deaths. The vast majority illnesses are in China, but the virus has also spread to Europe, Australia and North America.