The Canadian Press
Allison Jones
The first case of COVID-19 has appeared in northern Ontario, in a Sudbury man.
He had attended the Prospector’s and Developers Convention before falling ill. The Northwestern Health Unit is asking anyone who was at that conference, who develops symptoms, to self-isolate and contact the NWHU.
Ontario reported five more cases of COVID-19 Wednesday, bringing the total to 42, as the government announced a $100-million contingency fund to deal with the global pandemic in this province, where it will likely continue spreading.
Health officials said a recent case of a Sudbury, Ont., man who was confirmed to have the virus after attending a large mining convention in Toronto doesn’t appear to be community spread, but that is likely a matter of if – not when.
“Unfortunately it probably is an inevitability,” said Ontario’s associate chief medical officer of health Dr. Barbara Yaffe. “Certainly the last 24 hours there’s been an up-tick in numbers of cases and cases with different characteristics than before, which is concerning. We’re very carefully monitoring it.”
The man in his 50s from Sudbury attended the Prospectors and Developers Association in Canada convention on March 2 and 3 in Toronto, but it is not yet clear if he recently travelled outside the country or was in close contact with another confirmed case. He is an employee of the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines and its Sudbury office has been shut down, the government said.
Yaffe said it’s likely the man acquired the virus at the convention, which was attended by more than 20,000 people from many different countries.
