UPDATED: WHO Declares Coronavirus a World Health Emergency, No Cases in Saskatchewan

The World Health Organization has declared Coronavirus a Global Health Emergency.

Reaffirming that the average resident has nothing to worry about, Saskatchewan's Chief Medical Health Officer, Dr. Saqib Shahab, spoke yesterday about the ongoing outbreak of Coronavirus.

Rumours have been circulating at the University of Regina saying some people on campus had traveled to Wuhan, China recently – a city that's currently quarantined – however, the university confirmed the rumours were not true.

Dr. Shahab said there have been other rumours as well floating around online saying that there has been a confirmed case of coronavirus in Saskatoon, but that that has no truth behind it either.

"The internet and social media is a great gift for staying in touch with friends and family, but obviously one has to be very careful about what information is out there, especially if it relates to your health or well-being. All of us need to be aware of that and we need to focus on going to credible websites like the Ministry of Health or the Public Health Agency for specific information on health issues."

He went on to say that though there are no confirmed cases, there is testing being done on 5 residents.

"At the moment testing has been ordered in 5 instances, one has come back negative and results on the other 4 are pending. But again, from other provinces as well, most of the tests come back negative because even if you've traveled back from China and you get a respiratory illness, it's much more likely that its one of the common cold viruses or influenza."

There have been 3 confirmed cases of the virus in Canada, with 1 being in Vancouver and 2 in Toronto, all from people who had recently traveled to China.

Dr. Shahab says that as time goes on, they are learning more and more about the illness.

"We need to be reassured that from the 3 cases reported in Canada and other jurisdictions; in 2 instances the people are well enough to self-isolate at home. We're learning more and more as time goes on, so it appears that in many cases the illness can be mild to moderate, and only rarely does it become severe."

Dr. Shahab continued on, saying that over the next four to six weeks they will be monitoring the evolution of the illness, but that transmission so far has only occurred within China.

There have been 170 deaths related to coronavirus in China, and 7,711 confirmed cases throughout China and 15 other countries.

Protocol is in place if the virus should show up in Saskatchewan, and Dr Shahab says they've learned a lot from dealing with other outbreaks.

"We have had experiences in the past with SARS in 2003 and mers cov from 2016. I think the average person on the street doesn't need to be concerned, the most important thing for people who have traveled or for people with someone who has traveled that it should be flagged if symptoms develop."

The University of Regina announced Monday that they will be taking precautions after the recent outbreak, by canceling all organized and funded trips to China for the next 3 months.