Three new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Ontario, total rises to 23

Three new cases of COVID-19 in Ontario Health officials are confirming three new cases of the novel coronavirus, bringing the province's total to 23.

TORONTO — Health officials are confirming three new cases of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), bringing the province’s total to 23, including recoveries.

Provincial health officials announced two new cases in a news release issued on Thursday morning, while Peel Region health officials announced a third new case on Thursday evening.

One of the three patients is a woman in her 50s, who returned home from Italy on March 3. She attended Grand River Hospital’s emergency department in Kitchener, where she was “assessed, tested and discharged home the same day.”

“The patient is experiencing mild symptoms and remains in self-isolation at home with minimal contact with others,” officials said.

Region of Waterloo Public Health is “actively monitoring the situation, including contact tracing,” the news release said.

The second patient is a man in his 60s, who returned home from Iran on Feb. 29. He attended Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre’s emergency department in Toronto on March 3.

“He was assessed and discharged home on the same day,” officials said.

He remains in self-isolation now at home, where he has “minimal contact with others.”

Toronto Public Health is monitoring this case.

The third patient is a man in his 60s from Mississauga seen at Trillium Health Partners-Mississauga Hospital. He was aboard the Grand Princess Cruise Ship out of San Francisco from Feb. 11 to 21 and returned to Canada on Feb. 28, officials said.

Officials in the U.S. have reported a 71-year-old California resident, who had taken a voyage on the Grand Princess, died earlier this week. The ship is now floating off San Francisco while passengers are being tested. There are 235 Canadians on the ship’s manifest, Global Affairs Canada has said.

Peel Region health officials said the Mississauga man is the first positive case in their region.

"This individual was seen and assessed at Trillium Health Partners on March 4,” Dr. Jessica Hopkins, the medical officer of health for Peel Region, said. “This person did have symptoms, including a cough, and we are currently speaking to them and getting a detailed history of any contacts they have may have had in the community.”

The man is doing well and recovering in self-isolation at home, officials said.

"This case contracted the illness outside of our region and there remains no community spread to date of COVID-19,” Hopkins said. “This is a travel case that came from another country.”

Ontario health officials continue to state that COVID-19 is “not circulating locally.”

“However, given the global circumstances, Ontario is actively working with city and health partners to plan for the potential of local spread.”

Of the confirmed cases of the virus in the province, officials said four of them have recovered. They are a Toronto couple in their 50s, a London, Ont. university student in her 20s and a Toronto woman in her 20s. They had all recently travelled to China.

All of the recovered patients have had two consecutive negative tests at least 24 hours apart.

In Canada there have been 37 confirmed cases of the virus in total, including two cases in Quebec and 13 cases in British Columbia. COVID-19 has sickened more than 95,000 people worldwide, killing more than 3,500.