The 2 travellers who’ve been recognized as Canada’s first instances of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 first entered the nation by means of the Montreal-Trudeau Worldwide Airport earlier than persevering with on to Ottawa, Ontario’s prime physician confirmed Monday.
Dr. Kieran Moore first stated Sunday that the province had detected its first two instances of the brand new variant of concern in two people in Ottawa who had lately travelled from Nigeria.
Ontario’s chief medical officer of well being added in an replace with reporters Monday morning that these people first landed in Montreal and had been examined there, with the optimistic outcomes handed to the province from Quebec’s public well being company.
They then travelled on to Ottawa, Moore stated.
Learn extra:
Omicron in Ottawa — Travellers from 8 international locations requested to self-isolate
Ottawa Public Well being is now conducting contact tracing to see whether or not anybody else has contracted the virus in reference to the unique two instances.
Moore stated Monday that the province is presently taking a look at 4 different instances — two extra in Ottawa and two in Hamilton — as attainable cases of the Omicron variant. Public well being is simply ready on genomic sequencing to substantiate or rule out the variant.
“I’d not be stunned if we discovered extra in Ontario,” Moore stated Monday.
Learn extra:
Can Omicron outpace Delta COVID-19 variant? Scientists search solutions
On Saturday, OPH launched a uncommon public assertion advising of a attainable publicity to COVID-19 throughout a Nov. 24 rideshare between the Montreal airport and Ottawa’s Barrhaven neighbourhood.
That journey may need seen the driving force of the car uncovered to COVID-19.
International Information requested OPH if this incident is linked with the confirmed instances of the Omicron variant however the well being unit stated it couldn’t present additional particulars.
“To guard privateness and private well being data, Ottawa Public Well being is unable to reveal extra details about the publicity,” a spokesperson stated in a short assertion.
Whereas there are two instances of the variant confirmed in current travellers, the rideshare incident concerned just one passenger who examined optimistic, in accordance with OPH’s preliminary assertion.
© 2021 International Information, a division of Corus Leisure Inc.
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