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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
World
Tanveer Mann

First case of coronavirus confirmed in Canada as man in 50s contracts deadly disease

Canada has confirmed its first case of coronavirus after a man contracted the deadly disease from China. 

Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre said it is "caring for a patient who has a confirmed case of the novel coronavirus that originated in Wuhan, China".

Dr David Williams, chief medical officer of health, said experts are 95% sure it is the virus after lab testing was carried out in Ontario.

Officials said the affected man recently flew from Wuhan, China to Guangzhou, China, and then on to Toronto on January 23.

Dr Barbara Yafe, Ontario's associated chief medical officer, said: "He really wasn't in Toronto very long. He wasn't feeling well.

"I think he was at home and the people that live with him are in self isolation."

So far the virus has claimed the lives of more than 40 people with thousands more thought to be infected.

The Chinese city of Wuhan has essentially been shut down in an attempt to control the spread of the virus.

Airports are on high alert (The Mega Agency)

Train stations and the airport were closed, while ferries and long-distance buses were also stopped.

Earlier this week, Public Health England confirmed that 14 people in the UK had been tested for the virus, with five having come back negative, and another nine awaiting results, while Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the NHS is "ready to respond appropriately" to any cases of coronavirus that emerge in the UK.

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