Canada Confirms 2 Cases Of Omicron COVID Variant In Nigerian Travellers

Canada Confirms 2 Cases Of Omicron COVID Variant In Nigerian Travellers

Two cases of Omicron COVID-19 variant have been confirmed by the Ministry of Health in Ontairo, Canada, in two people who recently traveled from Nigeria.

iexclusive News Nigeria reports that the health ministry said in a statement that Ottawa Public Health is handling case and contact management.

“Today, the province of Ontario confirmed two occurrences of COVID-19’s Omicron variation in Ottawa, both of which were reported in people who had just traveled from Nigeria,” the ministry said.

“In addition to the previously announced measures, we continue to urge the federal government to take the required steps to enforce point-of-arrival testing for all travelers, regardless of origin, to help prevent the spread of this new type.”

Jean-Yves Duclos, Canada’s federal health minister, confirmed the country’s first two instances, adding he was working with the province’s public health officials to track down the cases.

“It is predicted that further examples of this variety will be detected in Canada as the monitoring and testing with provinces and territories continues,” Duclos said in a statement.

The cases were discovered through genetic monitoring and border surveillance, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada.

Early results suggest that the Omicron version of SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, is more transmissible than previous iterations, according to the CDC.

It has been recognized as a variety of concern by the World Health Organization because it contains scores of changes that experts fear would allow it to dodge immunizations, albeit proof is limited at this time.

South African scientists were the first to report it, and over 100 cases have already been discovered.

In Nigeria, the Omicron variety has yet to be discovered.

Meanwhile, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) says it’s keeping an eye on new information about the Omicron variant and its implications.

The agency said in a statement late Sunday that this will shape Nigeria’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

While a handful of cases have been documented in the UK, Israel, Botswana, Hong Kong, Germany, Belgium, Italy, and other countries, the variant has yet to be found in Nigeria, according to the organization.