Canada Health Authority Detects Omicron Variant In Two Nigerian Travelers
Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos
LAGOS NOVEMBER 30TH (NEWSRANGERS)-Canada has detected its first cases of the new Omicron strain of Covid, in two people who had traveled recently to Nigeria, Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos said in a statement on Sunday.
“I was informed today by the Public Health Agency of Canada that testing and monitoring of Covid-19 cases has confirmed two cases of the Omicron variant of concern in Ontario as the monitoring and testing continue. It is expected that other cases of this variant will be found in Canada”, Duclos said in a statement on Sunday.
The government of Ontario confirmed that the two cases are in the capital Ottawa.
Both patients are in isolation while public health authorities trace their possible contacts, said Federal and Ontario provincial officials.
To reduce the transmission of the Omicron variant and out of an abundance of caution, Ottawa Public Health has therefore advised individuals who have been in Nigeria, South Africa, Mozambique, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Eswatini, and Namibia, within 14 days before arriving in Ottawa, and members of their households to immediately self-isolate even if fully vaccinated.
On Friday, Canada banned travel from seven African countries over concerns about the spread of the Omicron strain. Nigeria was not one of them.
The variant which was first detected in Southern Africa last week has become a major concern to governments around the world as they rush to contain the spread.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has listed Omicron as a “variant of concern” and countries around the world are now restricting travel from southern Africa, where the new strain was first detected and taking other new precautions.
The WHO says it could take several weeks to know if there are significant changes in transmissibility, severity, or implications for Covid vaccines, tests, and treatments.
Meanwhile, one of the first South African doctors to detect the strain, Dr Angelique Coetzee, said she noticed seven patients at her clinic who had symptoms different from the dominant Delta variant, albeit “very mild.”
“The most predominant clinical complaint is severe fatigue for one or two days, along with headaches, body aches and pain”, she added.
Channelstv
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Posted by News Rangers
on Nov 30 2021. Filed under Health, International, National.
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