Canadian doctor tests positive for COVID-19 after Hawaii trip; WHO declares pandemic

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UPDATED 1:58 p.m.

President Trump tweeted that he would be “addressing the nation this evening” at 9 p.m. EDT., which is 3 p.m. HST.

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A radiation oncologist in Hamilton, Canada, has tested positive for COVID-19 after a visit to Hawaii, Canadian media outlet CBC reported Wednesday.

The doctor, 32, was in contact with both cancer patients and staff members since returning to the Juravinski Cancer Centre.

She returned from her trip Saturday, and according to CBC, the doctor was tested Monday, received a positive result Tuesday, and has been in self-isolation since.

CBC did not say where in Hawaii the doctor visited.

The CBC states that her spouse, a surgeon at another Hamilton hospital, is not showing symptoms but is being monitored.

On Wednesday, the World Health Organization classified the outbreak of COVID-19, which has infected more than 118,00 people since it was first detected in China in late December, a pandemic.

WHO leaders said this is the first pandemic caused by a coronavirus, but calling the outbreak a pandemic does not change the WHO’s assessment of the threat, what the organization is doing or what countries should do.

Meanwhile, President Trump said he will make a statement later today about how his administration will deal with coronavirus. He plans to address the nation at 2 p.m. HST.