First Canadian novel coronavirus patient discharged from hospital

Published: Friday, January 31, 2020

TORONTO — A Toronto hospital says a man with novel coronavirus who was being treated there has now been discharged and is recovering at home.

The man in his 50s travelled to Toronto from China last week and was Canada’s first case of the virus.

There are three confirmed cases in the country — another Ontario case is the first patient’s wife, and there is one in British Columbia — all are linked to recent travel.

Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre says in a statement today that the man’s health has improved over the past week to the point where he no longer requires in-patient care.

Toronto Public Health will monitor the patient while he continues to recover at home, where his wife is also in self-isolation.

The novel coronavirus has now infected almost 10,000 people around the world.

The spike in the number of new cases prompted the World Health Organization to declare the outbreak a global health emergency on Thursday.

Canadian officials have said the measures to prevent the spread of the illness in this country are working and there’s no need to change the plans.