Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says there “could also be extra” Canada must do because it reckons with the newly found menace of the Omicron variant.
5 instances of the Omicron COVID-19 variant have been confirmed in Canada thus far.
“Clearly, we’re watching very, very intently the state of affairs with Omicron. We all know that, although Canada has very sturdy border measures now — we want vaccinations to come back to Canada, we want pre-departure checks, we do testing on arrival,” Trudeau advised reporters as he walked right into a Tuesday cupboard assembly.
“There could also be extra we have to do and we’ll be taking a look at it very fastidiously.”
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Canada has already taken some steps to batten down its borders in response to worries concerning the newly found Omicron variant. On Friday, the federal government banned travellers from seven African nations: South Africa, Mozambique, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Lesotho and Eswatini.
Different nations have enacted related bans, together with the area of Hong Kong, which closed its borders to Canadians on Tuesday.
The WHO has warned that the worldwide danger from Omicron is “very excessive,” with early proof suggesting it is perhaps extra contagious than different variants of concern.
The variant has a lot of mutations in two key areas of the virus’ spike protein, in keeping with Chief Public Well being Officer Dr. Theresa Tam, together with on the spike receptor-binding area, which is the place the virus attaches itself and invades our cells.
That, Tam warned on Friday, might “signify a possible for elevated transmissibility of the virus.”
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The opposite regarding mutations within the Omicron variant are on what’s generally known as the “antigenic supersite.”
“Mutations to this space of the virus might influence our physique’s pure immunity in addition to doubtlessly scale back immunity provided by vaccines,” Tam mentioned.
When pressed on whether or not Canada can anticipate extra restrictions on account of this new COVID-19 variant, Well being Minister Jean-Yves Duclos was tight-lipped.
Canada should “study extra” concerning the variant and its doable impacts, together with on transmission, an infection, and vaccines, Duclos advised reporters, talking in French on Tuesday.
He added that he hopes to say extra “as quickly as doable.”
— with recordsdata from The Related Press
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