Ontario reports first two cases of omicron COVID-19 variant
CTV
Two people from Ottawa who returned from a trip to Nigeria have tested positive for the recently identified variant of concern that was first detected in southern Africa, Ontario health officials say
They are Canada's first two cases of the B.1.1.529 variant, also known as omicron.
Ontario Health Minister Christine Elliott and Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kieran Moore said in a joint statement that the patients are in isolation and Ottawa Public Health is conducting case and contact management.
"Ontario is prepared and ready to respond to this new variant," the statement read.
"The Ontario COVID-19 Genomic Network is continuing to actively monitor for all potential variants circulating in the province, including the Omicron variant, and is conducting genomic sequencing on 100 per cent of eligible COVID-19 positive samples."
