Canada detects first cases of Omicron COVID variant in ‘travellers from Nigeria’

Canada has detected two cases of Omicron — the new highly infectious COVID-19 variant — in Ottawa, Ontario.

According to a statement by the Ontario government on Sunday, the two cases were detected in individuals who had recently travelled from Nigeria.

“Today, the province of Ontario has confirmed two cases of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 in Ottawa, both of which were reported in individuals with recent travel from Nigeria. Ottawa Public Health is conducting case and contact management and the patients are in isolation,” the statement reads.

The index case of Omicron was detected in South Africa on Tuesday, and the World Health Organisation (WHO) had subsequently designated Omicron as a “variant of concern”, calling on global leaders to take action to contain its spread.

So far, the variant has already been detected in the UK, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Denmark, Belgium, Botswana, Israel, Australia and Hong Kong. 

The UK, US and EU countries have imposed travel restrictions on travels from southern Africa, and Israel has closed its border to foreign travellers for 14 days as an extreme measure of caution against the new variant.

Although the federal government is yet to announce the detection of the new variant in the country, the Indonesian government, on Sunday, said it will ban travellers from eight African countries — including Nigeria.

Indonesia senior ministers said the travel restrictions will take effect on Monday and reevaluated every two weeks.