Ontario confirms 8 more COVID-19 cases, first coronavirus-related death reported in province

Ontario health officials have announced eight new confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus bringing the provincial total of active cases to 180. The province also reported its first death – a man in his 70s in Muskoka.

Numbers released on Ontario’s website on Tuesday show that five of the new cases are from Hamilton, two are from Middlesex-London region and one is from York Region.

All patients are listed as self-isolating. Form of transmission for seven patients are listed as pending, one case from York Region is listed as having travelled to Costa Rica.

The province has five resolved cases. More than 11,000 patients have been tested for COVID-19 so far.

Late Tuesday morning, Health Minister Christine Elliott confirmed to Global News that a 77-year-old man has died, possibly as a result of close contact with another positive coronavirus case in Muskoka. The man wasn’t confirmed to have contracted the virus until it was found in his system post-death, Elliott said.

“The matter, at our request, is now being investigated by the Coroner’s office to determine whether this person passed away because of COVID-19 or with COVID-19. That’s a really important distinction,” Elliott said adding that they will not officially know for at least one day. She added that the deceased had other physical problems.

If confirmed, this would be Ontario’s first confirmed death of COVID-19.

The Ontario government announced a provincial state of emergency on Tuesday.

Source: Read Full Article