Toronto Public Health actively monitoring contagious coronavirus

Jan 21 2020, 8:06 pm

Toronto Public Health is actively monitoring the contagious coronavirus that has broken out in Wuhan, China.

Symptoms of the illness include fever, cough, and difficulty breathing, and most cases have been linked to the Huanan Seafood Market (also known as Wuhan South China Seafood City and South China Seafood Wholesale Market), according to the Government of Canada.

Some cases, however, have not been linked to the market, and the virus’ source is still unknown. The seafood market has reportedly been closed since January 1 for cleaning and disinfection.

Toronto Public Health learned of the coronavirus outbreak — then described as cases of undiagnosed viral pneumonia — earlier this month, and announced that they were monitoring the situation.

They maintain that as of Tuesday, the risk to Toronto residents remains low.

At this time, the Government of Canada says, there is no clear evidence of spread from person to person. However, limited person-to-person spread may reportedly be possible.

In recent days, some Canadian airports — including Toronto Pearson — have added additional checks to identify passengers who visited the city and may be sick.

The international airports in Vancouver, Toronto, and Montreal will begin asking passengers going through customs if they visited Wuhan. Travellers who visited the city will be put through further screening, according to a statement from the Canada Border Services Agency.

Passengers experiencing flu-like symptoms will be seen by a Public Health Agency of Canada quarantine officer, and all others who visited Wuhan will be given an information package, according to the CBSA.

In addition, signs will be posted this week in the three airports to raise awareness about the outbreak of the new virus.

There are no direct flights from any Canadian airport to Wuhan, but travellers who visited the city could enter the country on a connecting flight.

DH Toronto StaffDH Toronto Staff

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