First known COVID-19 case was detected in Canada one year ago today

It’s been exactly one year since the first known case of COVID-19 was detected in Canada.

The 56-year-old man had arrived at Sunnybrook hospital in Toronto with what seemed to be mild pneumonia.

But because he had travelled from China and his X-rays were unusual, the decision was made to admit him.

Samples were sent by taxi to Ontario’s public health laboratory, which had been working to come up with a reliable test.

Approaching one year since Canada’s first known-case of COVID-19

The lab was soon able to confirm the man was infected with what was then being called the novel coronavirus.

Although “Patient Zero” eventually recovered, more than 19,000 people in Canada have since died from COVID-19.