Canadian hospital isolates patient with Ebola-like symptoms

© AFP file picture

A patient back from #Nigeria who showed symptoms of fever and flu -- possible signs of #Ebola -- was put in isolation in a Toronto-area hospital, Canadian health officials said late Friday.

Nigeria is one of several countries in West Africa that has had confirmed cases of Ebola, in the world's largest ever outbreak of the deadly hemorrhagic fever that has seen 961 deaths and nearly 1,800 people infected since the beginning of the year.

The unnamed male patient was being treated at the William Osler Health System's Brampton Civic Hospital in a suburb of Toronto.

"As a precautionary measure, Osler put in heightened infection control measures in the emergency department including isolating the patient," the hospital said in a statement.

Hospital doctors "are working closely" with public health officials "to confirm a diagnosis."

In addition to quarantining the patient, the hospital said it enacted other strict precautionary measures.

"To date, there are no confirmed cases of Ebola in Ontario and the risk to Ontarians remains very low," said Graham Pollett, the province's Interim Chief Medical Officer of Health.

He also said that Ontario's health care system "is prepared to respond should an individual arrive with symptoms that could suggest a disease, such as Ebola."

He cautioned that initial Ebola symptoms "are similar to many more common diseases," adding that health care providers "have been advised to be on heightened alert for Ebola cases."

Another senior Ontario health official, Eric Hoskins, said in a statement that with the "experience and lessons learned from the SARS epidemic, our hospitals have sophisticated infection control systems and procedures ... and are fully equipped to deal with any potential cases of Ebola."

The worst affected countries so far have been Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea, but Nigeria has also had nine confirmed cases of Ebola so far.

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan on Friday declared a national emergency several hours after the World Health Organization called the epidemic a global health crisis. AFP

Prince Charles 'compared Russian actions to Nazis'

The prince made his remarks while visiting Canada's national museum of immigration

A woman who fled the Nazis has said the Prince of Wales told her her family's ordeal was like the actions of Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

Marienne Ferguson was speaking after she met Prince Charles during a visit to an immigration museum in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where she is a volunteer.

According to Ms Ferguson, "He made the remark that now Putin is doing some of the same things that Hitler was doing."

Clarence House said it would not comment on a private conversation.

The prince is due to meet the Russian president for D-Day anniversary celebrations in France next month.
On Monday, Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall visited Pier 21, Canada's national immigration museum, during their four-day tour of Canada.

The prince chatted to Ms Ferguson, who left Poland for Canada just prior to the Nazi occupation, and some of whose family died in concentration camps. 

"He [Charles] asked when I came to Canada, I told him 1939," said Ms Ferguson.
"He made the remark that now Putin is doing some of the same things that Hitler was doing.
"I agreed - you know, he is taking countries the same as Hitler did."

BBC Royal correspondent Peter Hunt commented: "This was an unplanned foray into a vexed international issue.

"Charles's supporters will argue his views are in tune with those who've been appalled by the Russian President's actions in Ukraine. His critics believe an unelected future head of state should be seen and not heard."

The Russian president has been widely condemned since he annexed Crimea from Ukraine in March.
Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made the same comparison between Mr Putin and Hitler in March, when Russia began issuing passports to Ukrainian citizens.

"Now if this sounds familiar, it's what Hitler did back in the '30s," she said.

 BBC News

Prince Charles and Camilla in Canada for royal tour

The trip is the third time Charles and Camilla have visited Canada as a couple

The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall have arrived in Canada for the start of a four-day royal tour.

Prince Charles and Camilla were greeted by dignitaries and the waiting media ahead of dozens of engagements across three provinces.

They flew into Halifax, Nova Scotia, on board a Canadian Forces Airbus.
The royals will attend events including one marking the 150th anniversary of the Charlottetown conference which led to the Canadian Confederation.
Grand parade
 
After stepping off the plane, the duchess was presented with flowers by Grace Elizabeth Lenihan, aged three, and her nine-year-old sister Molly Jane.

The royals were presented to a Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer, Chief Superintendent Brian Brennan, before leaving for a reception with the Governor General of Canada, David Johnston.
They chatted informally with the governor general at a photocall at Halifax's Government House.

To mark the royal tour, Prince Charles has been appointed to the #Queen's Privy Council for #Canada some 57 years after his father, the Duke of Edinburgh, was given the same honour.

The royal standard of the Prince of Wales flew as the couple arrived

The royal standard of the Prince of Wales flew as the couple arrived

Prince Charles and Camilla met the Governor General of Canada, David Johnston, and his wife Sharon

There had been fears in recent weeks that the long-scheduled tour might not go ahead following last month's death of Camilla's brother Mark Shand.
The Duchess was left "devastated" by the death of Mr Shand, 62, from a head injury after a fall in New York.

During their visit to Halifax, the royal couple will watch military personnel take part in the Grand Parade on Victoria Day, the Canadian national holiday to mark Queen Victoria's birthday.
The prince will deliver a speech at the parade and lay a wreath at a cenotaph to commemorate those killed in World War One.

Farmers' market

The royal couple will visit a military family resource centre in Halifax which provides support to some 20,000 local servicemen and women and their families.

Charles and Camilla will have tea with World War Two veterans and war brides at the #Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21, which was where half a million military personnel left for the conflict.
Prince Charles will meet traders at a local farmers' market in Halifax, while the duchess will witness the work of a project that helps victims of domestic violence.

The couple will visit Pictou County for an event to celebrate Celtic heritage in Nova Scotia.
They will travel to Charlottetown, Bonshaw and Cornwall in Prince Edward Island and Winnipeg in Manitoba during the tour.

It is the third time they have travelled to Canada together and is Charles's 17th official visit to the country.
Source: BBC News