Ontario Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. David Williams, and Medical Officer of Health for Halton Region, Dr. Hamidah Meghani, confirmed the second case of COVID-19 in Halton region.
The patient is an Oakville resident in her 40’s who had travelled to Colorado earlier this month. She became symptomatic on March 7 and on March 10 presented herself to Joseph Brant Hospital in Burlington for testing. On March 11 she was notified of her positive test result and is now self-isolating at home.
The individual also has recent travel history to Costa Rica. It has been determined that she had mild symptoms on flights from Toronto to Liberia, Costa Rica (Flight 2644; WestJet) on March 7 and then Liberia, Costa Rica to Toronto (Flight 2643; WestJet) on March 9th. The passengers on these flights are asked to self-monitor for symptoms for 14 days. If they develop symptoms, isolate immediately and report themselves to their local public health unit.
“I would like to reassure residents that the risk in our community remains low at this time and we are working to identify known contacts and assess any potential health risk,” said Dr. Hamidah Meghani, Medical Officer of Health.
“When the individual came to Joseph Brant Hospital for testing, it was completed in an isolated environment, with our care team following all infection prevention protocols and procedures,” said Eric Vandewall, President and Chief Executive Officer at Joseph Brant Hospital. “Our hospital is taking all necessary precautions to keep our patients, our visitors and our physicians and staff safe.”
Contact Halton Region Public Health by calling 311, 905-825-6000 or toll free at 1-866-442-5866 if you have a fever OR cough OR breathing difficulty AND any of the following:
- travelled outside of Canada in the 14 days before onset of illness; or
- close contact with a confirmed case of COVID-19; or
- close contact with a person with acute respiratory illness who travelled to affected areas within 14 days prior to their illness onset.
The best way to prevent the spread of respiratory viruses, including COVID-19 is to:
- stay home when ill;
- cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue or sleeve;
- wash hands with soap and water or with alcohol-based hand rub; and
- clean and disinfect objects and surfaces.
Residents are encouraged to stay informed by regularly reviewing credible information sources. For more information on COVID-19 including symptoms, risk and when to contact Halton Region Public Health, please visit halton.ca/coronavirus. To get the latest information on cases in Ontario and to learn more about how the province continues to protect Ontarians from COVID-19, please visit ontario.ca/coronavirus.
