Omicron variant likely linked to cluster of at least 30 COVID-19 cases
The Middlesex-London Health Unit (MLHU) says there is a "strong probability" that the Omicron variant is linked to a cluster of at least 30 cases of COVID-19 in the region.
Officials say they were notified of two cases screening positive for the 'S' gene target failure (SGTF),' which is a marker for the Omicron variant.
The two cases are part of a cluster linked to travellers who arrived in London from Nigeria late last month.
During a virtual media briefing Monday, MLHU Acting Medical Officer of Health Dr. Alex Summers said, "Although the whole genome sequencing results that are required to confirm that these cases are indeed Omicron are not yet available, the combination of travel history and screening results make this highly likely that Omicron is here in Middlesex and London."
An outbreak of at least 14 cases at God's Favourite House church on Dearness Drive in south London is also linked to the cluster.
The Thames Valley District School Board (TVDSB) says they have identified two schools with the potential close contact to the Omicron variant.
Princess Elizabeth Public School and Delaware Public School have indentified close contact cases. Both schools will remain open at this time.
Meanwhile the London District Catholic School Board has temporarily closed three of its schools due the number of students and staff who must quarantine.
The number of high-risk close contacts of this cluster continues to increase, and the health unit expects it will exceed 100.
While the investigation is "unfolding rapidly" Summers was able to say that, to his knowledge, the travellers were fully vaccinated and had followed federal guidelines around testing.
"It appears there may have been household transmission that had subsequently spilled out of the house, resulting in transmission in the community."
Summers said that those impacted over the age of 12 were largely vaccinated, and that while they are symptomatic, there have been no hospitalizations associated with the cluster.
"I do want to highlight, as I mentioned before, being fully vaccinated still reduces your risk of transmission even likely with Omicron, and certainly it will reduce the probability of hospitalization and that is a notable success."
The health unit is continuing to follow up with persons under investigation and with close contacts and asks that anyone contacted follow their direction.
"The news of the Omicron variant today is upsetting, it is unsettling, it is certainly not something we were looking for as we sit here at the end of 2021," Summers said. "However, the same principles that have helped us weather this storm so far are the same principles will help us weather this as well."
Those measures include vaccination, masking, limiting social contacts and gatherings and staying home and getting tested if you're sick.
The health unit is expected to put out additional guidelines later this week in an effort to curb rising case counts.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
For the first time in report's history, Canada's air quality worse than U.S.
Thanks to wildfires, air quality in Canada is now worse than in the U.S., according to the 6th Annual World Air Quality Report.
A newspaper says video of Prince William and Kate should halt royal rumour mill. That's a tall order
Prince William and his wife Catherine have been filmed at a farm shop near their Windsor home, The Sun newspaper reported -- the first footage of Kate since she had abdominal surgery for an unspecified condition two months ago.
'You ask for your money, they disappear': Ontario man loses $17K to AI crypto scam
A Toronto man is spreading the word of a cryptocurrency scam that lures victims using AI-generated news sites after he lost $17,000 in investments.
DEVELOPING Canada's annual inflation rate ticked down to 2.8 per cent in February, defying expectations
Statistics Canada says the annual inflation rate edged down to 2.8 per cent in February.
Hertz CEO out following electric car 'horror show'
The company, which announced in January it was selling 20,000 of the electric vehicles in its fleet, or about a third of the EVs it owned, is now replacing the CEO who helped build up that fleet, giving it the company’s fifth boss in just four years.
High thoughts: The habits of Canadian cannabis users are revealed in a new StatCan report
Statistics Canada has conducted a series of surveys to measure the impacts of legalized cannabis since the Cannabis Act took effect in 2018. The latest one, the 2023 National Cannabis Survey, sheds light on users' preferences and habits last year.
Demand soars for solar eclipse glasses in Canada. Are they worth buying?
The demand for total solar eclipse glasses used to safely view the rare celestial event has been ramping up as sellers, along with astronomy and eye-care experts in Canada, warn that viewing the eclipse with the naked eye is dangerous.
Trump says Jews who vote for Democrats 'hate Israel' and their religion
Former U.S. president Donald Trump on Monday charged that Jews who vote for Democrats 'hate Israel' and hate 'their religion,' igniting a firestorm of criticism from the White House and Jewish leaders.
Toronto family doctor who called patient's body 'perfect' suspended for 3 months: tribunal
A family doctor in Toronto has been suspended for three months after a disciplinary tribunal found that he failed to follow proper protocols while examining a patient's breasts and made inappropriate comments about her body.