Toronto’s Sunnybrook Hospital says a man who was diagnosed with the new coronavirus was discharged on Friday.
The man, who is in his 50s, was the first confirmed case of the new coronavirus in Canada. He and his wife, who was later confirmed to have the virus, recently travelled to Wuhan, China, which is the epicentre of the outbreak.
On Thursday, Ontario health officials said the man was recovering in hospital while his wife was doing well in isolation at home.
“His status continued to improve over the week and he reached the point where he no longer requiring hospitalization,” said Dr. Jerome Leis from Sunnybrook. “He will remain in isolation in his home till at such time that public health confident that there is no risk of transmission.”
“A majority of patients we’ve seen do recover from this infection and that seems to be the case with this specific patient.”
Officials also said 27 others were being monitored for the virus in Ontario.
Ontario’s associate chief medical officer of health Dr. Barbara Yaffe said that so far, 67 people have been tested for the virus in Ontario. According to Yaffe, 38 tests came back negative and the 27 people who remain under observation are either at home in isolation or in hospital.
There have been three confirmed cases of the new coronavirus in the country, with B.C. confirming that a man in his 40s had the virus on Tuesday.
Symptoms of the illness, according to Canada’s chief medical officer, Dr. Theresa Tam, may take about two weeks to manifest and are similar to those of the common flu.
The symptoms include coughing, a fever and a general feeling of malaise. Some people may also have difficulty breathing.
Leis said there is no specific treatment for coronavirus yet, however, research is ongoing. He said the man’s treatment was “really supportive as it is for most viral respiration infections.”
He said they monitored the man and offered anything he may have required, including fluids, blood work, radiographs and oxygen among other things.
In China, the death toll has reached more than 200 people, while thousands of others are sick.
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