Omicron COVID-19 variant detected in Australia, Canada


(MENAFN- NewsIn.Asia) Nov 29 (newsin.asia) – Two cases of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, first detected in Southern Africa last week, have been confirmed in Canada, provincial health officials said on Sunday.

The cases were reported in two people who recently travelled to Nigeria, the Ontario government said in a statement.

Subscribe to our Telegram channel for the latest updates from around the world

Australia confirmed on Sunday that two people arriving from southern Africa over the weekend had tested positive for the Omicron coronavirus variant, adding to a growing number of countries fighting the highly infectious strain.

Health officials in New South Wales, the most populous state, said both passengers had arrived in the state capital, Sydney, on Saturday evening and tested positive for COVID-19 late that night, before genome sequencing confirmed the Omicron variant on Sunday.

READ: COVID restrictions to be tightened in Sri Lanka during the festive season?

Belgium, Botswana, Britain, Denmark, Germany, Hong Kong, Israel, Italy, the Netherlands and South Africa. have already detected cases of the new Omicron coronavirus variant.

In its statement, the WHO said it was working with technical experts to understand the potential impact of the variant on existing countermeasures against COVID-19, including vaccines.

– Input from other agencies

MENAFN29112021000191011043ID1103269866


Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.