5th coronavirus case in Ontario, a woman who was recently in Iran

A fifth case of coronavirus has been reported in Ontario and is awaiting confirmation via testing at the National Microbiology Lab in Winnipeg, provincial health officials said Wednesday.

In a statement, Ontario’s chief medical officer of health said the woman in her 60s went to Toronto’s Sunnybrook Hospital on Feb. 24. She had recently travelled to Iran, Dr. David Williams said.

The woman was isolated as hospital staff tested for COVID-19, the virus that causes coronavirus illness.

“The woman was discharged home the same day and, per protocols, went into self-isolation where she remains,” Williams said.

Her sample has been sent to the lab in Winnipeg for further testing.

Williams will provide an update on coronavirus in the province at 12:30 p.m. ET.

This is the 12th case of COVID-19 in Canada, but public health officials say the risk of the virus spreading in this country is still low.

It is the first in Ontario involving a person with no history of travel to China.

The virus has infected 80,000 globally and recently spread to Iran, where there have been 139 confirmed cases and 19 deaths, according to state television.

CBC