Patient admitted with novel coronavirus
Update January 31, 2020: Patient has been discharged from Sunnybrook
Update January 28, 2020: Patient's condition has been updated from stable to good.
Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre is caring for a patient who has a confirmed case of the novel coronavirus that originated in Wuhan, China.
On Thursday evening (January 23) an adult male presented to the Sunnybrook Emergency Department with fever and respiratory symptoms. The patient was screened and in addition to his symptoms, had confirmed recent travel history to Wuhan, China.
Sunnybrook’s Emergency Department team isolated the patient immediately and took the necessary precautions to ensure the safety of staff and other patients. Diagnostic testing was conducted and specimens were sent to the Public Health Lab in Ontario to confirm the diagnosis. Today, the diagnosis of novel coronavirus was confirmed.
“I want to thank our front-line teams and the great efforts of those in Public Health, for acting so quickly and efficiently to ensure the patient received an accurate diagnosis and is being cared for safely and effectively,” said Dr. Andy Smith, President and CEO of Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. “We are fortunate our teams have been preparing for this type of situation and they performed perfectly.”
Right now, the patient is in stable condition and has been admitted to an isolation room. He will undergo treatment to manage his symptoms and a number of teams in the hospital will be caring for him over the next few days.
“There has been a tremendous amount of learning since the 2003 SARS crisis, which has helped prepare us for a situation like this,” said Dr. Jerome Leis, Sunnybrook’s Medical Director of Infection Prevention and Control. “We followed our usual practice of systematic screening which allowed us to rapidly identify this patient, send appropriate testing, and institute the necessary precautions. I feel confident in our ability to respond appropriately and limit the spread of infection.”
Sunnybrook remains open and clinics and procedures will continue to operate as per normal. The hospital is safe for patients and visitors.
For more information:
Sunnybrook Communications
416-480-4040
