PAt the moment, there is nothing to indicate that these people have actually contracted the potentially fatal virus, but they are returning from China and have symptoms of respiratory illnesses which deserve to leave nothing to chance.
They are currently under observation in hospitals in Montreal and Quebec.
In total, in the past few days, six travelers from China have been examined by medical authorities. One of them has already been discharged on Wednesday, the tests being negative.
This information was provided Wednesday by the national director of public health, Horacio Arruda, at a press conference.
The latter sought to be reassuring, stating that everything was in place in the health network to intervene quickly if ever a case of coronavirus was detected in Quebec.
Instructions have been given to detect possible problem cases at airports and in hospital emergency rooms.
The main symptoms are fever, cough and difficulty breathing.
In the Wuhan region of China, the spread of the new virus has made hundreds of people sick and 17 dead so far.
Mr. Arruda’s intervention occurred while in Geneva, the World Health Organization (WHO) is to determine whether the outbreak should be considered a “public health emergency of international concern”.
In any case, Quebec is already on alert. “We are acting exactly as if it were an international emergency,” said Arruda, since travelers regularly return from China and “may have the disease.”
“We prefer to sin by excess than to let a case wander in the community,” he commented.
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