if there was one message canadians were meant to take away from the update by health canada officials on sunday morning, one day after the announcement that a presumptive case of wuhan virus has been isolated in a toronto hospital, it was that we have a system.
the system isn’t working, and probably can’t work, but we have one. and that’s half the battle, right?
the actual information presented at the conference, featuring health minister patty hadju and dr. theresa tam, canada’s chief public health officer, can be summed up concisely. the patient, a man in his 50s, had recently returned to toronto from china. he was showing symptoms while on the flight to north america, but still got through the enhanced screening in place at pearson international airport. he went home and, a day later, to hospital, where he was immediately isolated. the various public health agencies have been communicating well, the patient is isolated at toronto’s excellent sunnybrook health sciences centre, biological samples from the patient are being immediately analyzed, with results expected by monday, and public health officials are working quickly to identify and contact anyone who was sitting near the man on the transoceanic flight. the patient is, by all accounts, doing well in hospital. his family members are being monitored.