Ontario's tally of H1N1 flu cases has crept upward by six, with all cases continued to be mild. Three of those new cases are in Toronto.

One mild case has popped up in a student at North Toronto Collegiate Institute, but the Toronto District School Board will be keeping the school open and do some enhanced environmental cleaning over the weekend.

Parents shouldn't worry too much, one health official said.

"We haven't seen any sustained transmission within school settings," said Dr. Vivek Goel, CEO of Ontario's Agency for Health Protection and Promotion.

"There's really not anything for parents to worry about compared to what they'd be worried about in the regular flu season."

The pace of new cases has slowed. On Thursday, the total rose by seven. In the two days previous to that, total confirmed cases jumped by 30.

The total number of cases in Ontario now totals 62 with an updated national number expected later Thursday afternoon.

The geographic distribution of the cases is as follows:

  • Toronto - 18 (+3)
  • York region - 12 (+1)
  • Durham region - 7
  • Peel region - 7 (+1)
  • Windsor-Essex - 5
  • Simcoe-Muskoka - 2
  • Sudbury and district - 3 (+1)
  • Halton - 2
  • Hamilton - 1 (+1)
  • Hastings and Prince Edward - 1 (+1)
  • Oxford Country - 1
  • Ottawa - 2
  • Middlesex-London - 1

Dr. David Williams, the province's acting chief medical officer of health, said Friday he's less concerned with numbers than geographic spread. Single cases popped up in two new regions -- Hamilton and Hastings and Prince Edward.

Twenty-seven of the patients are males, 34 are females (information hasn't come in yet on one case). The age range is 3 to 52. Thirty-eight people had travelled to Mexico, 15 became infected in Ontario without knowing how they had been exposed, and nine other cases are still under investigation.

Ontario typically sees 9,000 cases of seasonal flu per years with approximately 500 deaths resulting.

Williams said that medical officials are still seeing many cases of seasonal flu. About 70 per cent of cases are regular flu, not H1N1.

This could be because people with mild or moderate symptoms are coming forward for testing out of fears they might have H1N1 flu, he said.

Health Minister David Caplan said the province's public health system has done a good job so far in coping with the new virus.

"And if things become even more critical, we are ready," he said.

However, health officials said Friday that the daily briefings would end unless there are major developments.

First H1N1 death

Alberta health officials confirmed on Friday that H1N1 flu contributed to the death of an Alberta woman in her 30s.

She is the first person in Canada whose death has been linked to the virus.

However, she had pre-existing medical conditions, they said.

"It's important to remember, as a larger public health issue, that every year, 4,000 Canadians die from the flu and a high percentage of them have underlying conditions that play a large part in making them susceptible to serious consequences when they get the flu," said Dr. Andre Corriveau, Alberta's chief medical officer of health.

Alberta also had a young girl develop severe symptoms of the virus-based illness, but she is reported to be recovering in hospital.

Virtually all other cases in Canada have been of the mild variety where people have recuperated at home. Nationally, there are at least 233 confirmed cases of H1N1 flu in Canada.

There have been two confirmed deaths in the United States and 44 in Mexico.

What to do

The symptoms of H1N1 flu (previously known as swine flu) are similar to other seasonal flus:

  • chills and cough followed by fever, loss of appetite, muscle aches and fatigue
  • runny nose, sneezing, watery eyes and throat irritation
  • nausea, vomiting and diarrhea may occur in adults as well as in children

In severe cases, or in individuals with other medical problems, pneumonia can develop

"As always, in flu season, if you have signs and symptoms, you do the right thing," Dr. David Williams, Ontario's acting chief medical officer of health, has said.

Health officials have the following advice for people to avoid spreading any flu-like virus:

  • cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it
  • wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze. Alcohol-based hand cleaners are also effective
  • avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs spread this way
  • try to avoid close contact with sick people
  • stay home from work or school and limit contact with others if you get sick

Williams said this particularly applies if a person has recently been to Mexico or has had contact with a confirmed case in the past seven days.

People who have recently been to Mexico but haven't shown any symptoms in the past seven days are okay to go to work, he said.

"I've been impressed with the responsibility people have taken in this regard," he said.

Those Ontarians who have general questions about H1N1 flu can call the ServiceOntario INFOline at 1-800-476-9708.

If someone has flu-like symptoms and believe they may have H1N1 flu, they should call Telehealth at 1-866-797-0000.                    

With a report from CTV's John Musselman and files from The Canadian Press