A woman from Iran is the 12th case of coronavirus in Canada
Canadian authorities announced Wednesday that the twelfth case of COVID-19 in the country, and the second in a person who had recently traveled to Iran, is a woman in her 60s who is isolated in her home.
The new case is the fifth one registered in the province of Ontario, while the other seven are located in the province of British Columbia.
The medical director of Ontario, Dr. Eileen de Villa, said at a press conference that the latter case of the new coronavirus is not related to another detected in British Columbia, also in a person who had recently traveled to Iran.
In the case of British Columbia, authorities detected the new COVID-19 coronavirus on February 24 in a woman in her 20s from Iran.
According to De Villa, Canada's twelfth case is a woman who had traveled to Iran and who fell ill after returning to Canada on February 15.
Initially, the patient was isolated in a hospital in the province but after confirming the positive, she was discharged and remains isolated at home, where her condition is being monitored by health personnel.
Also today, the Minister of Health of Canada, Patty Hajdu, reiterated that the risk of contagion of COVID-19 among the Canadian population "remains low, we still have few cases."
"But given that the expansion is global, what that means is that we will have an epidemic outbreak in Canada. It is always smart to be prepared at the community and country levels," Hajdu added.
Canadian health authorities have decided to avoid hospitalization of people infected with COVID-19 unless it is essential after the country's experience with Acute and Severe Respiratory Syndrome (SRAG) 17 years ago.
In 2003, hospitalization of people infected with the SRAG coronavirus caused the contamination of several Toronto hospitals and the infection of dozens of people among patients admitted by other medical conditions and health personnel.
In total, 44 people died in Toronto from SRAG, the largest number of fatalities outside of China, the origin of the infection. In China and Hong Kong, the SRAG caused more than 700 deaths.
