The woman who is the second apparent case of Wuhan coronavirus in Canada is well and in “self-isolation” at home while a majority of 19 “persons under investigation” for the bug are in hospital awaiting conclusive test results, Ontario health officials say.

All 19 have a recent travel history from affected areas in Wuhan in central China, and are either at home trying to avoid contact with others or in isolation rooms in hospitals as a precaution.

“Quite a few are in Toronto,” Dr. David Williams, Ontario’s chief medical officer, said Monday, declining to name other locations.

“I would guess we’re going to see some more cases reported in other parts of Ontario, perhaps.”

The second case is the wife of the first confirmed coronavirus patient in Canada, a man in his 50s who is in Sunnybrook hospital in stable condition.

Officials moved to reassure the public that no one else lives with the unidentified couple.

“Given the fact that she has been in self-isolation, the risk to Ontarians remains low,” Williams said.

His federal counterpart, Dr. Theresa Tam, told a conference call later Monday the goal is to keep anyone who carries the virus to Canada from spreading it to anyone here through person-to-person contact, as is widespread in Wuhan. The incubation period is up to 14 days.

“We’re in containment response,” Tam said. “We’re trying to keep this virus in a box and trying to put it back in this box. It’s a massive global effort.”

Tam added it’s difficult to get the virus through “casual contact, such as walking through an airport.”

The couple returned from China last week and have tested positive for the virus at Ontario’s public health laboratory. The husband’s symptoms became severe enough to require medical care. Both were wearing face masks on their flight home to Toronto after travelling in the affected area, officials say.

The wife remains at home because “she is well and currently asymptomatic,” said Dr. Eileen de Villa, Toronto’s chief medical officer, whose staff are checking with the woman regularly by phone to monitor her condition.

“Not all people ... experience severe symptoms,” Williams noted.

“From what we know, Wuhan novel coronavirus transmits through close contact — and there’s no closer contact than a husband and wife,” Health Minister Christine Elliott tweeted Monday morning.

The couple arrived at Pearson last Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. aboard China Southern Airlines flight CZ311 from Guangzhou. Tam confirmed they were screened by a Canada Border Services agent.

“At the time of arrival, the husband had only a mild cough,” she revealed on the conference call. “He was not visibly ill.”

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The couple was given information on what to do if they should get sick. The next day, the husband had deteriorated and an ambulance was called to take him to Sunnybrook hospital. Paramedics had been tipped to the need to wear personal protective equipment.

Williams said the man is “continuing to recover.”

To better keep tabs on potential cases, more public health officers are being assigned to airports in Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal to assist border services officers screening passengers arriving from China, Tam said.

Yaffe noted “people are self-identifying” if they feel they may have been exposed aboard the China Southern airplane, with another 15 cases already ruled out as other viruses such as the flu.

Enhanced screening has now been implemented, with 911 operators instructed to ask callers for their travel histories so first responders are ready.

If the call is linked to respiratory issues, operators ask if the caller has been in the Wuhan area; if so, paramedics are dispatched in “appropriate garb,” said Yaffe.

Williams acknowledged officials have no idea how long infected droplets from a coronavirus cough or sneeze can last on surfaces such as doorknobs, but said it appears the bug is “not quite as communicable” as standard flu viruses.

Toronto public health staff have been reaching out to about 30 passengers aboard the China Southern Airlines flight who sat within two metres of the couple, with extra resources in place to speed the task. De Villa would not say how many of the travellers have been reached.

Other passengers on that plane, some of whom have contacted health officials, are advised to “continue about their regular business,” but to be aware of any symptoms that develop and contact their local public health department if they feel ill, said de Villa.

News of Canada’s first patient came Saturday as authorities around the world grappled with the new strain of coronavirus that has now spread to the U.S., France and Asian countries.

China on Tuesday reported more than 2,700 cases and 106 deaths, but it remains to be seen whether the virus is as dangerous as the common flu, which kills thousands every year in Canada alone. Globally, there are 2,799 cases with no fatalities so far, and all cases outside China are “travel related,” said Yaffe.

Canadian doctors are urging concerned citizens to take the same sorts of precautions they would to avoid common illnesses, such as frequent handwashing and coughing into the arm or sleeve rather than the hand.

The Peel District School Board took the step Monday of issuing a bulletin telling parents “please do not send your child to school wearing a mask,” saying they “spread unnecessary panic” and are often used incorrectly by people who are not medical professionals.

The coronavirus is reminiscent of the SARS outbreak that originated in China and infected more than 8,000 people, killing 800, including 44 Canadians.

With files from Tom Yun and The Canadian Press