Ontario is now officially free of confirmed coronavirus cases
It's been nearly a month since the first case of coronavirus was diagnosed in Toronto, and now, all of Ontario is finally free from the novel illness (for now).
Though officials tested nearly 300 patients and at one point were investigating up to 62 potential cases of what is now known as COVOID-19 in Ontario, the province is now in the clear, with zero cases confirmed or suspected.
The three people in Ontario who did have the illness — a couple in their 50s in Toronto and a university student in London — have now recovered and are officially cleared of the infectious disease.
this is indeed a welcome good news.
— World Rover 🇨🇦 (@as_is_h) February 21, 2020
As of 10:30 a.m. today, there are still 12 residents under investigation in the province, none of which are presumed to be positive for the virus at this time.
Test results — which can now be confirmed by the Public Health Ontario Laboratory rather than at the National Microbiology Lab as was necessary early on in the virus's outbreak — for those 12 individuals are pending.
China's strict travel restrictions and quarantine for Wuhan and other ciies in Hubei province, where the virus is thought to have originated, have helped contain the spread.
Aproximately 98 per cent of COVOID-19 cases have been within China, with only 10 of the more than 2200 deaths occurring outside of the country. At the time of publication, nearly a quarter of those across the world who had fallen ill with the coronavirus have made a full recovery.
There have been a total of at least 34 confirmed cases in the U.S. and eight in Canada, plus one presumptive positive case (and no, it's not coronavirus plane guy) since the outbreak began in mainland China in December 2019.
#aljazeera Coronavirus: Which countries... https://t.co/DhZLNZR2KB
— 𝔓𝔦𝔬𝔱𝔯 𝔇𝔶𝔟𝔦𝔢𝔠 (@pidybi) February 21, 2020
There are also 47 additional Canadians who were aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship who have tested positive for the virus, and who will be treated in Japan. The remainder of the presumed-healthy Canadians from the ship are currently in 14-day quarantine in Cornwall, Ontario.
The illness, though potentially slightly more fatal than the common flu, is most concerning for the elderly and already immunocompromised, and/or those without access to good health care.
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