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The Department of Health in Ontairo, Canada, said it has confirmed two cases of the Omicron COVID-19 variant in two people who recently traveled in from Nigeria.
The Department of Health said Ottawa Public Health is conducting case and contact management.
The statement reads”today, the province of Ontario confirmed two cases of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 in Ottawa, both of which have been reported in people who have recently traveled from Nigeria,”.
In addition to the recently announced measures, we continue to urge the federal government to take the necessary steps to impose point-of-arrival testing for all travelers, regardless of their origin, to better protect themselves against the spread of this disease. new variant. ”
Federal Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos also confirmed the first two cases in Canada, saying he was working with public health officials in the province to contact the case finding.
“As surveillance and testing continues with provinces and territories, it is expected that more cases of this variant will be found in Canada,” Duclos said in a statement.
The Public Health Agency of Canada said genomic surveillance, as well as border surveillance, had identified the cases.
The agency said early data suggests the Omicron variant may be more transmissible than previous iterations of SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.
The World Health Organization has named it as a variant of concern because it contains dozens of mutations that scientists believe could allow it to escape vaccines, although the evidence is limited at this time.
It was first reported by South African scientists, with more than 100 cases already detected.Omicron variant is yet to be detected in Nigeria.
Meanwhile, the Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC) says it is monitoring emerging evidence on the Omicron variant and its implication.
