The Omicron variant has arrived in Canada

Two first cases of the new variant of the coronavirus, Omicron, were confirmed in Ottawa on Sunday. As cases spread around the world and concern soars, G7 health ministers are called to an emergency meeting on Monday.

Ontario confirmed two cases of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 in Ottawa on Sunday. “Both of these cases have been reported in people who have recently traveled from Nigeria. Ottawa Public Health is doing case and contact management, and patients are in isolation, ”said Christine Elliott, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health, and Dr.^r Kieran Moore, the province’s chief medical officer of health, in a statement.

Nigeria, located in West Africa, is not on Canada’s Red List.

The Minister of Health of Canada, Jean-Yves Duclos, said “to expect that other cases of this variant will be discovered in Canada”.

The Minister of Health and Social Services of Quebec, Christian Dubé, indicated on Twitter that his team was in regular contact with Minister Duclos and that it was monitoring the situation very closely with public health “to see the evolution of the Omicron variant in Quebec ”.

“The variant has several disturbing mutations. It has mutations that could allow it to escape antibodies, mutations that could allow it to attach more strongly to cells, and mutations that could speed up the rate at which one can become infected with the virus. On paper, the variant looks very dangerous, ”says Andrew Pekosz, epidemiologist at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, United States, in an interview with The Press.

On November 26, the World Health Organization (WHO) designated strain B.1.1.529 as a variant of concern and named it Omicron. The variant has a large number of mutations and was first reported to WHO by South Africa on November 24.

Emergency meeting

The British government, which currently holds the rotating presidency of the G7, announced on Sunday that it would convene “an emergency meeting” of the group’s health ministers on Monday to tackle the issue of the Omicron variant.

The health ministers of France, the United States, Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom will therefore meet on “Monday, November 29 to discuss the evolution of the disease. situation on Omicron ”, during an“ emergency meeting ”, announced the British Ministry of Health in a statement.

So far, Canada, the Netherlands, Botswana, South Africa, Israel, Belgium, Denmark, Britain, Germany, Italy and the Czech Republic have identified cases of the Omicron variant, mainly in travelers.

Canadian traveler infected

China has also identified two cases of the Omicron variant, including one in a traveler who arrived in Hong Kong from Canada.

In Hong Kong, a 36-year-old traveler from South Africa on November 11 was tested positive for the Omicron variant. A 62-year-old traveler who arrived from Canada on November 10 was also tested positive a week after his arrival, while in quarantine in a hotel room across from the South African traveler.

The country’s Public Health suggests the traveler from Canada may have been infected with the virus when the man from South Africa opened his hotel room door without wearing a surgical mask. Insufficient air circulation would also be involved.

The two infected men were fully vaccinated with the Pfizer vaccine. The 62-year-old man from Canada had received two doses of the vaccine – April 29 and May 25.

The 12 people who stayed from November 11 to 14 in the three rooms to the left and right of the rooms of the two infected men were subjected to a mandatory quarantine for 14 days, the Chinese Ministry of Health said.

An important contrast

While the Omicron variant is on everyone’s lips internationally, new health restrictions have not yet been imposed in South Africa, notes a French traveler there, Yayan Alès.

We continue to wear the “mask in closed places, we are disinfected [les mains] and we take our temperature five times a day, we fill out questionnaires at each entrance to the parks, ”says Mr. Alès, in writing to Press.

However, the vaccination rate remains very low in South Africa: only 24% of the population is adequately vaccinated.

Tjalina Nijholt, a Dutch tourist visiting East Africa, has not noticed any change in the attitude of the population in the past few days. “It’s super strange, the contrast is very great. You see the news from Europe, the United States, around the world, talking about this new variant. But in the countries themselves, at least in Tanzania and Kenya, this is not a concern at all, ”she said in an interview with Press.

Too late ?

Based on past experiences with COVID-19, the Omicron variant has likely already spread to some extent around the world, believe experts consulted by Press.

“We know that by the time we identify a variant, it has often already spread. Part of what will determine whether the Omicron variant continues to spread is how it competes with the Delta variant, ”he told Press Philip A. Chan, infectious disease physician at Brown University, Rhode Island, United States.

But before knowing whether the new Omicron variant will succeed in beating the Delta variant, more data will be needed, experts conclude.

Canadians still stranded in southern Africa

Faced with the rapid spread of the new Omicron variant, several countries hastened to close their doors to travelers from southern Africa. Many international flights have been suspended, making it difficult for Canadians to return home. The WHO and many experts, however, call for the borders to remain open.

Danielle Husar, 23, is a member of the Canadian Junior Girls’ National Field Hockey Team. For the past few days, the young athlete, who is from Mississauga, Ont., Had been training with her team in Potchefstroom, South Africa, ahead of the 2021 International Hockey Federation Junior World Cup, which was scheduled. from December 5 to 16.

But last Friday, the plans changed. “We were informed on Friday evening that our tournament was postponed due to the appearance of a new variant. We were supposed to leave around mid-December, but we are now trying to get back to Canada as quickly as possible, ”says M.^me Husar at Press.

On all continents, many states are closing themselves off from southern African countries, including South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique, but also Zambia , Malawi or Angola depending on the case. They also tighten the entry rules for all travelers. Angola became the first southern African country to suspend flights in the area on Sunday.

The young woman and her teammates, from British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario, are anxious to be able to return to the country.

A team in Canada, in conjunction with the Canadian government, is working to try to bring young women back to the country. “But at the moment, we don’t know when we will be able to return,” she adds.

Punish Southern Africa

As travel restrictions to African countries multiply, the World Health Organization (WHO) called on Sunday “that the borders remain open”.

“WHO stands alongside African countries and calls for borders to remain open,” the organization said in a statement, calling on countries to “adopt a scientific approach”, based on “the assessment of risks ”.

According to Andrew Pekosz, epidemiologist at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, closing borders is not an effective method.

Travel restrictions rarely work. We see that the variant is already in Europe. The message it sends is that southern Africa and scientists are being punished for being honest and for quickly disseminating their data.

Andrew Pekosz, epidemiologist at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

These flight ban measures, which have an impact on the economy and tourism, could deter countries in the future from reporting the discovery of variants for fear of being sanctioned, South African health authorities said, who had sounded the alarm on the existence of this variant in their country.

“It is crucial that countries that are transparent with their data are supported, as this is the only way to ensure that we receive important data in a timely manner,” urges the WHO.

What to do then? “We need to test more and better, and we need to find other ways to quickly identify cases,” concludes Pekosz.

With Coralie Laplante, Press, and Agence France-Presse