Husband of Ontario’s 5th COVID-19 case also tests positive for coronavirus

The husband of a woman confirmed as Ontario’s fifth case of COVID-19 has also tested positive for coronavirus, said the province’s Ministry of Health on Thursday.

The man in his 60s is at home in Toronto in self-isolation.

Local public health officials in the city “continue to be in regular contact” with the man, a ministry statement reads.

Yesterday, officials said the man’s wife tested positive for coronavirus, nine days after she returned from a trip to Iran.

Health Minister Christine Elliott’s director of communications said the woman’s husband was not in Iran with her, and so this marks the first time Ontario has seen a case of human-to-human transmission. The patients in all of the other cases had a recent travel history to China.

While China has been the epicentre of the outbreak of the virus known as COVID-19, Iran is now experiencing one of the worst outbreaks outside of China, with 254 people infected and 26 dead.

More than 81,000 cases of COVID-19 have occurred since the virus emerged in the Wubei province of China.

Ontario health officials say the risk of contracting coronavirus in Canada remains low and residents should take the same precautions as during flu season.

CBC