Coronavirus: Oakville woman is the second positive test in Halton region

Halton‘s medical officer of health has confirmed the region’s second positive case of COVID-19.

In a release from Halton Region Public Health (HRPH), Dr. Hamidah Meghani says the second case is a 40-year-old female from Oakville, Ont., who had travelled to Colorado earlier this month.

Meghani says the woman became symptomatic on Saturday and presented herself to Joseph Brant Hospital in Burlington on Monday for testing.

“On March 11 she was notified of her positive test result and is now self-isolating at home,” according to the release.

The infected woman also had recently travelled to Costa Rica.

“It has been determined that she had mild symptoms on WestJet flights from Toronto to Liberia,” said Meghani.

Affected flights are Flight 2644 on March 7, and Flight 2643 on March 9, HRPH said in the release.

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Passengers on these flights are asked to self-monitor for symptoms for 14 days and, if they develop symptoms, isolate immediately and report themselves to their local public health unit.

“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.”

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Concerned about COVID-19? Here are some things you need to know:

Health officials say the risk is very low for Canadians, but they caution against travel to affected areas (a list can be found here). If you do travel to these places, they recommend you self-monitor to see whether you develop symptoms and if you do, to contact public health authorities.

Symptoms can include fever, cough and difficulty breathing – very similar to a cold or flu. Some people can develop a more severe illness. People most at risk of this include older adults and people with severe chronic medical conditions like heart, lung or kidney disease.

To prevent the virus from spreading, experts recommend frequent handwashing and coughing into your sleeve. And if you get sick, stay at home.

For full COVID-19 coverage from Global News, click here.