Canada’s first cases of omicron COVID variant confirmed in Ottawa, Ontario
On Sunday, the Ontario Government announced there are two confirmed cases of the omicron variant of the coronavirus detected in Ottawa.
According to a statement, the confirmed cases were reported in individuals who have recently traveled from Nigeria. Ottawa Public Health is conducting case and contact management and the patients are in isolation.
These are the first cases of the omicron variant confirmed in Canada, coming just days after the country implemented new travel restrictions on foreign nationals who had visited several countries in South Africa over the preceding two weeks.
The omicron variant was first identified by South African researchers and has provoked global concern. Little is known about the new variant, which has been labelled as a variant of concern due to a rapid rise of cases in a South African province.
It is not known at this whether the variant is more transmissible, or more dangerous to the health of those infected by it, than other COVID variants.
The provincial government urges residents to get vaccinated, including booster shots, and to continue following public health guidance.
