Man in his 50s in Halton is Ontario's second COVID-19-related death

Chris Herhalt CP24.com

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Ontario’s second known COVID-19 fatality appears to have been a case of local transmission, in a Milton man who went to hospital last week with what was first thought to be a regular case of pneumonia.

Doctors in Halton Region say a man in his 50s with an underlying health condition reported to Milton District Hospital on March 11 with what appeared to be a case of pneumonia.

His condition worsened over time and early in the morning on Wednesday he was rushed to the ICU at Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 10:15 a.m.

It took until 9 p.m. for his test results to come back; where it was determined he had COVID-19.

His widow identified him as Sean Cunnington, 51, a father of three who worked in sales and loved to play the guitar.

“We know that he did not travel outside Canada nor does he have a connection to a known COVID-19 case, and thus the indication is that there is local transmission,” Dr. Hamidah Meghani, Halton Region’s Medical Officer of Health said Thursday.

Halton Healthcare Medical Director Dr. Neil Rau said the man had an underlying health condition but otherwise was “someone who had a good quality of life prior to their death.”

Rau said the Cunnington was treated with standard infection control protocols due to his respiratory illness.

Meghani said a detailed contact tracing of the patients whereabouts prior to hospitalization is underway, and his immediate family may be ordered to self-isolate for 14 days.

She said the fact he was apparently killed by community transmission of the virus should shock people into obeying provincial emergency declarations and practicing strict social distancing.

“We need to stop doing things that are non-essential at this time,” she said, adding that workplaces should also take heed from what is occurring. “I think it is important for each and every employer to think about what is essential and what is non-essential.”

Earlier on Thursday, Ontario health officials confirmed 44 new cases of COVID-19 infection in the province, bringing the confirmed total including recoveries to 258.

The 44 cases represent the biggest daily increase in confirmed cases since Ontario’s first positive case in the outbreak back on Jan. 25.

Yesterday, the province disclosed 25 positive cases.

Ontario now has 250 active cases of novel coronavirus infection, five recoveries and two fatalities.

All but one of the new cases are in self-isolation.

One patient, a man in his 80s, was hospitalized in Durham Region.

Two of the cases are in Ottawa, at least eight of the cases originated in Toronto, one is in Waterloo, three are in Peel, one is from eastern Ontario, two are from Halton Region and another two are in Hamilton.

One other case, a man in his 70s, is in Haliburton-Kawartha and recently returned from Europe.

Twelve of the new cases were attributed to recent travel abroad, including the United States, Europe and the Philippines, while another was classified as close contact with a previously confirmed patient.

The cause of the remaining 30 cases is still under investigation.

Provincial officials could not disclose any identifying information for 22 of the new cases, not even where in the province they originated.

There are now 3,972 other Ontarians under investigation for possible infection, the highest number of people with testing in progress since the outbreak began.

Yesterday, provincial officials said that Public Health Ontario’s lab, in conjunction with other labs at hospitals, were working to increase testing capacity to 5,000 tests per day.

More than 12,000 people have tested negative for the virus so far.

Elliott says 1,600 new lines have been added at TeleHealth Ontario, which has been criticized in recent days for going down for a period of time and also forcing callers to wait as long as 20 hours to speak with a nurse.

Ontario's only earlier fatality related to the virus so far occurred on March 11 in Barrie, when a 77-year-old man passed away at Royal Victoria Hospital and tested positive posthumously.

He is considered a close contact of a previous confirmed patient.

Elliott said the coroner is still investigating whether coronavirus infection caused that man’s death.

Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. David Williams said the uptick of cases Thursday is surprisingly low. He said he expects it to climb higher to 50 or 60 cases in the upcoming days.

"It would be reassuring that our ongoing monitoring is still working well," Williams said, adding that the federal government has acquired a large volume of test kits, which would clear the backlog.

Williams said the next few days would be critical as they are anticipating up to 500,000 people to come back from the U.S. He said it is vital that returning travellers self-isolate and practice social distancing.

"And I'm confident that people coming back will be responsible and will do what they're supposed to do," he said.

Associate Chief Medical Officer Dr. Barbara Yaffe said 80 per cent of the cases are travel-related with the majority coming from the United States. She said 22 of the cases are in hospitals.

"The increased reflects a number of factors – the lab catching up with the backlog and the fact that we have more people are coming back in Ontario," Yaffe said.

She said they have also been testing people admitted to hospitals with severe respiratory infections and outbreaks of respiratory infections at long-term care facilities.

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