British Columbia Case Raises Number Of Canada's Coronavirus Patients To 3 - Health Officer

TORONTO (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 29th January, 2020) British Columbia has recorded the first case of the novel coronavirus, bringing Canada's total to three, the Canadian province's Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry told reporters.

In Canada, such cases as the one in British Columbia are considered "presumptive positive," pending confirmation from the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg.

However, "given the history of travel, the contact that this person had in Wuhan city, and the symptoms they were showing, we are confident that this is truly a case of this novel coronavirus," Henry said on Tuesday evening.

On Wednesday, local and Federal public health officials confirmed that two individuals from Toronto had contracted the disease following a visit to Wuhan, China.

Public health officials in Canada have insisted that the virus does not pose a danger to the greater public.

China's National Health Commission said on Tuesday that the total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in country now stands at 4,515 and the death toll from the new virus strain has reached 106.