WATERLOO REGION - Two more Waterloo Region residents have tested positive for novel coronavirus, Region of Waterloo Public Health announced Thursday morning.

There are now three confirmed cases in Waterloo Region.

One of the cases announced Thursday is a woman in her 60s who is a resident of Waterloo Region. She was a passenger on a Celebrity Cruise, which left Puerto Rico March 1, visited St. Thomas, St. Martin, Barbados, Dominique, Grenada and returned to Puerto Rico on March 7. She developed symptoms after returning to Canada on March 8. She was asymptomatic during travel and she self-isolated at home when symptoms developed.

She took private transportation to Grand River Hospital on March 10 for assessment and testing, Public Health said in a news release. Hospital staff took all necessary precautions to ensure the safety of staff and other patients. The patient was experiencing mild respiratory symptoms and has been released from hospital.

She had family members who were also on the cruise with her and are showing symptoms, but Public Health does not yet have test results for them. Health officials wouldn't say how many family members travelled with her and are now sick, but said test results take 24 to 48 hours.

The other case is a man in his 40s who lives in the region. He was infected on a trip to Las Vegas. He developed symptoms after returning to Canada. He took private transportation to Grand River Hospital on March 10 for assessment and testing.

"We don't have all the details yet of the second case," said Dr. Hsiu-Li Wang, Waterloo Region's acting medical officer of health. "We got results late yesterday, in the hours leading up to when the press release came out (at 11 a.m. Thursday) but we wanted to be timely to let people know that we have two additional cases that are travel-related cases in Waterloo Region."

Both cases are self-isolating at home and are being monitored by Public Health staff.

Wang said she fully expects to see more cases in the region.

"The case that was on the cruise does have family members that were also on the cruise and that also experienced symptoms and therefore we arranged testing for them as well," Dr. Wang said Thursday in an interview.

"With the quickly evolving international and domestic situation, this was not surprising, and I expect that we're going to have more cases in Waterloo Region, in line with the increasing number of cases in Ontario and in Canada," she said.

Both people were tested at Grand River Hospital "under appropriate conditions," Wang said. "There is no risk to either other patients or hospital staff."

When people come to hospital with coronavirus symptoms, "they're masked, the health care workers examine them with masks and with gloves and with gowns. . . . The patients are placed in appropriate locations to be tested."

Both of the more recent cases didn't have symptoms while travelling, so the individuals didn't become infectious until after they arrived home, Wang said. "Then they developed symptoms, and when they developed symptoms, then they called their doctor or Public Health and that's when we arranged testing for them."

The case arising from the cruise reinforces Health Canada's advisory to avoid all travel on cruise ships, Wang said.

"Las Vegas is also an area in the United States where they are also experiencing cases," Wang said. "This is an evolving situation. There are now cases in over 100 countries."

She urged people who are considering travel to consult Health Canada's website for the latest advice on where it is safe to travel.

There is no evidence the virus is circulating broadly in the community, and Public Health isn't calling for the cancellation of large public gatherings, Wang said.

"There's no evidence to suggest that we need to have a broad, widespread postponement or cancelling of gatherings. That said, it's a rapidly evolving situation, and event organizers may choose to make decisions based on a number of factors."

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The risk of contracting coronavirus is still low in Waterloo Region, she said.

While it's understandable for people in the region to be concerned, Wang said, "we need to be prepared for the fact that we are going to continue to have cases in Waterloo Region, just like elsewhere in Canada."

"We need to base the recommendations on the evidence. We need to also act in a way that's commensurate and proportionate to the risk because there's risks to overreacting as well as underreacting."

The region's first case arose on March 5, when a woman in her 50s was diagnosed with the virus after returning from a trip to Italy.

The fact that new cases are being discovered shows the system is working, Wang said.

"We want to detect the cases so that we can follow up and help prevent the spread," she said. "If we were not getting cases in the community, I would be worried," because that could suggest the disease is going undetected and spreading unchecked, she said.

There were 103 confirmed cases of the virus in Canada as of Wednesday. Ontario announced 17 new cases on Thursday, including the two Waterloo Region cases, bringing the provincial total to 59. One elderly man in a British Columbia care home has died from the virus.

Residents are reminded that washing hands with warm water and soap for 20 seconds is the best defence against the spread of germs and viruses. Use alcohol-based hand sanitizer if warm water and soap is unavailable. People who feel sick should stay home.

cthompson@therecord.com

Twitter: @ThompsonRecord

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