This is 'only the beginning' for COVID-19 in Canada: Infectious disease specialist

A man from Sudbury, Ont. who attended the recent Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada conference in Toronto has tested positive for COVID-19, health officials said Tuesday.

The man, who is in his 50s, went to the emergency department at Health Sciences North in Sudbury on Saturday. Following testing, he was discharged and remains in self-isolation at home, according to Public Health Sudbury & Districts (PHSD), which said the individual’s symptoms include coughing and difficulty breathing.

“Having a confirmed case in our area is not unexpected given the transmission of this virus around the world,” said Penny Sutcliffe, Sudbury’s medical officer of health, in a release.

“Our focus is on breaking the chain of transmission to limit the spread of infection and as a precautionary measure, we are asking those who attended PDAC 2020 to monitor for symptoms for 14 days.”

Find more coverage of the fallout from COVID-19 here.

Health officials said the man attended PDAC on March 2 and 3. PHSD said it is “actively engaged in follow up” with the provincial health ministry and local health officials.

A spokesperson for Toronto Public Health was not immediately available for comment when contacted via email by BNN Bloomberg.

The mining conference, which gathers the industry’s top executives from around the world, took place in Toronto from March 1-4.

Canadian political leaders are also prominent PDAC attendees. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau delivered a keynote at this year’s conference, and Natural Resources Minister Seamus O’Regan was also in attendance.

In a tweet Tuesday, O’Regan said he’s gone into self-isolation at the advice of his doctor after experiencing a “persistent head cold”, without indicating any connection to his PDAC visit.

A spokesperson for O’Regan told CTV News the minister is awaiting the result of a COVID-19 test.

I've had a persistent head cold for a few days so, as a precaution, I saw a doctor.



They recommended a test for COVID-19. I'm not aware of contacting anyone infected, but was told to remain in self-isolation until we get the results.



Feel fine. But I'll work from home. — Seamus O'Regan (@SeamusORegan) March 10, 2020

Ontario Premier Doug Ford also made an announcement at PDAC this year. In a statement to Toronto’s CP24, a spokesperson said Ford is “in good health and has experienced none of the symptoms related to COVID-19.”