Ontario’s health minister says three people in the province with connections to a deadly hantavirus outbreak are not currently being tested for the rodent-borne illness.
Sylvia Jones says the three individuals — a couple in Grey Bruce and a person in Peel Region — are still asymptomatic and isolating.
Jones says Ontario’s top doctor suggests testing on asymptomatic people may not produce “appropriate results,” and at this stage it’s best to monitor for symptoms.
More details about quarantine measures in several provinces are emerging after the evacuation Sunday of an Arctic expedition cruise that turned into a nightmare for dozens of passengers on board.
Four Canadians are among those who got off the MV Hondius Sunday on an island in Spain’s Canary Islands, and landed in B.C., where they will continue their quarantine that began on the ship in early May.
Six others, the three in Ontario, two in Alberta and one in Quebec, are isolating across the country after being exposed to the virus and returning to Canada, some more than two weeks ago, though officials say they are all asymptomatic.
However, the number of positive cases has grown since the evacuation of the ship with American and French officials confirming two more positive cases on Monday. That brings the total number of deaths to three and cases to seven, the World Health Organization said Monday.
The passengers isolating in B.C. are expected to quarantine under supervision in lodgings for approximately two more weeks, and then will be reassessed.
Officials said the travellers were asymptomatic before they took off in a plane chartered by the Public Health Agency of Canada and Global Affairs Canada, with support from the Canadian Armed Forces.
A PHAC officer ensured public health measures, including masking and physical distancing, were being followed on the flight.
With files from Allison Jones