Ontario reports first death linked to COVID-19

Ontario reports first death linked to COVID-19
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Premier Doug Ford has declared a state of emergency in Ontario

Ontario health officials are confirming the province’s first death in a patient with COVID-19.

A spokesman for Health Minister Christine Elliott says the 77-year-old man in the Muskoka region was a close contact of another positive case.

Travis Kann says the man himself wasn’t a confirmed case before he died, rather he was under investigation for the virus.

COVID-19 was discovered after his death.

The investigation into the exact cause of death is ongoing.

This is the first death related to the virus outside of B.C., which has recorded four. All of the deaths in British Columbia have been linked to the Lynn Valley Care Centre in North Vancouver.

Canada’s total COVID-19 cases have climbed to over 430, with the largest percentage of those being in Ontario.

Earlier Tuesday morning, Ontario’s premier Doug Ford declared the province was entering a state of emergency. By making the declaration, Ontario government officials now can regulate travel to specified areas and establish facilities for care, among other things.

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