Hamilton and Halton Region health officials have confirmed two new cases of COVID-19.
The city of Hamilton says a 52-year-old man returned from New York City on March 5 and began showing symptoms.
Local public health officials confirmed the man had the virus late Wednesday afternoon. He is currently in self-isolation.
This is the city’s first case of COVID-19.
Officials say the case is travel-related and has no connection to the Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS) doctor who was confirmed to have the virus on Wednesday.
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The doctor is a Burlington woman in her thirties who recently travelled to Hawaii.
She is employed as an oncologist at Juravinski Cancer Centre in Hamilton and was working on Monday where she saw patients and interacted with colleagues and staff.
She was later tested in the hospital’s emergency department after she started experiencing symptoms. The woman is currently in self-isolation at home.
Halton Region Public Health revealed Thursday a second woman has also been confirmed to have the virus.
The patient is an Oakville woman in her forties who recently travelled to Colorado. She began exhibiting symptoms on March 7 and went to Joseph Brant Hospital in Burlington on Tuesday.
“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 in a news release. “Our hospital is taking all necessary precautions to keep our patients, our visitors and our physicians and staff safe.”
The woman also recently travelled to Costa Rica and had mild symptoms while on a flight from Toronto to Liberia.
Halton health officials are asking anyone who was on WestJet flight 2644 or 2643 to self-monitor for symptoms for 14 days.
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“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, Halton Region Medical Officer of Health.
Halton Region Public Health is actively engaged in contact tracing and case management.
