Three people self-isolating in Ontario over hantavirus are not being tested, the health minister says, over concerns the screening won’t yield any results.
An Ontario couple who disembarked from the remote South Atlantic island of St. Helena are isolating in Grey Bruce, while a third who may have been exposed on a flight is in Peel Region.
Four other Canadians are still on board the MV Hondius cruise ship that has seen reports of multiple cases. This includes three deaths from the outbreak of the rodent-borne Andes virus, the only hantavirus known to be capable of limited transmission between humans.
The ship docked in Tenerife, Spain, last week, and some Canadian passengers wore protective gear as they climbed the stairs of a plane bound for the Saguenay-Bagotville Airport, roughly two hours outside of Quebec City.
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Ontario Health Minister Sylvia Jones said Monday the three people associated with the virus in the province continue to do well.
“The couple in Grey Bruce are still self-isolating, they continue to be asymptomatic and obviously the local public health unit is monitoring closely,” she told reporters at an unrelated event.
“We do have a third individual in the Peel Region who is also isolating and being monitored by the local public health unit.”
Pressed on the issue of testing, Jones said she had been informed it may not be the best course of action.
“It may not be the best way to monitor.”
Public Health Ontario’s guidelines for hantavirus recommend that N-95 masks be worn.
Moore previously said there was a national teleconference for public health leaders yesterday to co-ordinate efforts between federal, provincial and territories.
Despite the low risk of the virus spreading widely, he acknowledges that hearing words like “contact tracing” for the first time since the pandemic can be anxiety-provoking.
— With files from The Canadian Press
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