B.C. reported its first case of the COVID-19 Omicron variant Tuesday.
Provincial well being officer Dr. Bonnie Henry mentioned it was somebody in Fraser Well being who travelled to Nigeria.
The province will probably be doing full genome sequencing on all COVID-19 instances, Henry added.
“We will be assured we aren’t seeing widespread of this variant in B.C. but,” she mentioned.
“The place vaccination is low it might unfold quickly. The brand new variant reminds us we’re in a worldwide storm and it’s not equal in all places. There may be nonetheless rather a lot we don’t know concerning the Omicron.”
The person is now isolating and public well being is following up with them and their contacts.
To this point the Public Well being Company of Canada has recognized 204 folks in BC who’re just lately in affected areas.
The quarantine service have related with all of those people previously few days, they usually have been despatched for PCR testing and are in isolation.
“We will be assured that we aren’t seeing widespread transmission of this variant in BC but. We all know that these regarding mutations can come up, and the place vaccination is low and elements of the world, they will unfold quickly,” Henry mentioned.
“There may be nonetheless rather a lot we don’t but know concerning the omicron variant, and it’ll take some weeks for us to get enough knowledge to know.”
The province doesn’t but know if the variant is extra transmissible than different strains of the virus.
Whether or not it causes extra extreme sickness is one thing that can also be nonetheless unknown.
Public well being officers and scientists additionally don’t know whether or not vaccines are much less efficient or persons are extra prone to be re-infected with the variant.
“There are some strategies that it could be, however whether or not it’ll out-compete the delta variants that we’ve seen up to now right here in BC is but to be recognized,” Henry mentioned.
The Nationwide Advisory Committee of Immunization has been requested by the federal authorities whether or not the booster photographs ought to be offered sooner.
In British Columbia, these 70 plus and people with 2 photographs of AstraZeneca will probably be provided a booster six months after their second shot.
“We’re wanting on the info that’s coming round omicron and as I discussed, it truly is a bit too early to say, however throughout the subsequent couple of weeks we’ll have extra info on that,” Henry mentioned.
“The UK has decided to maneuver up booster doses for youthful folks — will probably be a dialogue that we are going to be having within the coming days and extra info on that by subsequent week.”
Learn extra:
B.C. gained’t add Omicron-specific restrictions, however folks arriving from southern Africa will want PCR check
The newest variant, first reported final week, has led the federal authorities to limit journey from international locations in southern Africa, and the B.C. authorities to require extra testing for individuals who have already arrived.
The World Well being Group mentioned Monday that the closely mutated Omicron variant is prone to unfold internationally and poses a “very excessive” threat of an infection surges that would have “extreme penalties” in some locations.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says there “could also be extra” Canada must do because it reckons with the newly found risk of the Omicron variant.
5 instances of the Omicron COVID-19 variant have been confirmed in Canada so far.
“Clearly, we’re watching very, very carefully the state of affairs with Omicron. We all know that regardless that Canada has very robust border measures now — we want vaccinations to come back to Canada, we want pre-departure checks, we do testing on arrival,” Trudeau informed reporters as he walked right into a Tuesday cupboard assembly.
“There could also be extra we have to do and we’ll be it very rigorously.”
READ MORE: Focused journey bans ‘too late’ to cease Omicron COVID-19 variant, consultants say
–with recordsdata from Rachel Gilmore
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