New virus strain extends its reach
MORE CASES OF U.K. COVID-19 VARIANT FOUND IN CANADA AS HEALTH OFFICIALS URGE PEOPLE TO STAY AT HOME
Acontagious new strain of the virus that causes COVID-19 has infiltrated two more regions of Canada, health officials said Sunday, a day after announcing the country's first cases of the variant had been detected.
The strain of the novel coronavirus has now been found in Ottawa and the Vancouver Island area of B.C., public health authorities said.
Both patients had recently returned from the United Kingdom, where the variant was first detected.
“This further reinforces the need for Ontarians to stay home as much as possible and continue to follow all public health advice, including the provincewide shutdown measures,” said Dr. Barbara Yaffe, Ontario's associate chief medical officer of health.
Ontario reported Canada's first two known cases of the virus on Saturday in a couple from Durham Region, just east of Toronto.
Public Health Ontario announced Sunday that after further investigation, they found the couple had been in contact with someone who recently returned from the U.K.
The agency had initially said the couple had no known history of travel or contact with people who had recently travelled.
Public Health Ontario said it is screening large volumes of positive COVID-19 samples to investigate how prevalent the U.K. variant is in the province.
However, health officials are not planning to report the different strains of the virus separately in provincial summary reports.
The Public Health Agency of Canada said while early data suggests the new variant may be more transmissible, there is no evidence the variant causes more severe symptoms or impacts vaccine effectiveness.
The Ontario government noted on Saturday that the discovery of the variant was “not unexpected” due to international travel. The province said it's prepared to start a COVID-19 testing program in airports but is calling for support from the federal government.
In B.C., the affected individual returned from the U.K. on Dec. 15 to their home in the Island Health authority. The person tested positive four days later after developing symptoms during their quarantine.
Health Minister Adrian Dix and provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said in a joint statement that the variant strain was detected through testing by the B.C. Centre for Disease Control.
News of the new cases came as Ontario and Quebec both recorded more than 2,000 diagnoses of the virus Sunday. Ontario reported 2,005 cases of COVID-19 and 18 new deaths, while Quebec announced 2,291 new infections and 12 more deaths.
They said 6,783 new cases of COVID-19 and 110 additional deaths linked to the novel coronavirus have been reported since Thursday.
The three-day total came after the two provinces did not publish data on the number of new infections or deaths on Friday or Saturday.
In Ontario, the provincewide shutdown restrictions began Saturday and are in effect in southern part of the province until Jan. 23, and lifting for the less-affected northern regions on Jan. 9.
Police in the Chatham-kent region said Sunday that a local church member will be reporting to court next month after more than 100 maskless people gathered inside Old Colony Mennonite Church in Wheatley, Ont., on Saturday.
Police responded to a report about the church gathering at 11 a.m. on Saturday and said everyone complied with police requests to end the service and leave the property.
The provincewide restrictions allow for religious services of up to 10 masked people indoors.
Quebec ordered a provincewide lockdown, which went into effect on Christmas Day, as part of its effort to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus and ease pressure on the health care system.
Businesses deemed non- essential will remain closed until at least Jan. 11.
The province has asked Quebecers to put social contacts and non-essential travel on pause, and to work from home over the holiday period, Quebec Health Minister Christian Dubé said.
Meanwhile, Alberta's chief medical officer Dr. Deena Hinshaw said there were an estimated 500 new COVID-19 cases recorded on Boxing Day, but she cautioned the low number is a result of fewer tests being performed on Christmas Day.