Coronavirus: Two cases of the Omicron variant detected in Ontario

The Omicron variant, described as “of concern” by the World Health Organization (WHO), has been discovered in Canada. Two of the first cases have been identified in Ontario, a sign, according to an expert, that they will soon be detected in Quebec.

Ontario Health Minister Christine Elliott said Sunday that the two are in the Ottawa region and are returning from a trip to Nigeria. The B.1.1.529 variant was first detected in South Africa, which prompted the Canadian government to close its borders to foreign nationals who had resided in seven South African countries. Nigeria, which is located in West Africa, was not on the list.

NS^I Elliott and Chief Medical Officer of Health of Ontario, Dr.^s Cases and contacts were managed by Ottawa Public Health, Kieran Moore said in a statement, and patients have been isolated.

“So far that hasn’t changed much. We’ll certainly see them also in Quebec, and we shouldn’t panic at the moment any more,” says Nathalie Grandeux, a respiratory virologist and director of the Research Laboratory on Host Response to Viral Infections for CHUM. It was expected to be revealed. From the moment he was identified in South Africa, we knew we were about two weeks late because it took about two weeks to get the results.”

Cases doubled, especially in Europe. Cases have been detected in the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Italy, Denmark, Germany, Belgium and the United Kingdom, but also in Israel and Australia.

We’ll surely see some in Quebec too, and we shouldn’t panic any more at the moment.

According to the World Health Organization, it can take several weeks to determine what changes Omicron causes in the extent of infection and severity of disease, and its effects on vaccines, tests, and treatments. However it can be more portable.

“We must continue to apply public health measures,” said Natalie Grandvaux, insisting on the importance of wearing a mask, of the ideal surgical type or even higher, to reduce transmission. “We have been enjoying relaxing lately. These are probably the places where we run the risk of transmission. Should we revise these public health standards? For now, I would say no,” he analyzed.

Reassuring Minister of Health

The Ontario government says it is ready to respond to the arrival of a new alternative. M said.^I eliot and d^s Moore.

However, the two urged the federal government to take the necessary measures to make arrival point screening mandatory for all travelers, regardless of their origin, to better protect themselves from the spread of this new species.

For his part, the Federal Minister of Health, Jean-Yves Duclos, said he was informed of the situation by Public Health Canada. According to him, the rapid identification of these two cases indicates the effectiveness of the country’s surveillance system.

Duclos wanted to reassure the population by declaring that “vaccination, in coordination with public health and personal protection measures, is effective in reducing transmission of COVID-19 and its variants in communities.”

However, he cautioned that more cases of the Omicron variant are expected in Canada.

Studies on Omicron are still ongoing and Angelique Coetzee, president of the South African Medical Association who has treated about 30 patients with the new form of COVID-19, said Sunday that, for now, only convalescents without hospitalization were observed.

“I’m not saying there will be no serious cases, but so far the patients we’ve seen who haven’t been vaccinated have had mild symptoms,” she told AFP.

With the Canadian Press and Agence France-Presse

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