More Omicron cases expected

Ontario offering testing to 375 travellers amid warning new COVID variant already here

Ontario was investigating four more possible cases of the Omicron COVID-19 variant and offered to test hundreds of travelers Monday as the province’s top doctor warned additional infections would likely be detected after the country’s first two were found in Ottawa.

The province was also mulling an acceleration of its third-dose COVID-19 vaccine rollout in response to the largely unknown threat, but the government said it wouldn’t implement widespread public health restrictions or slow reopening plans until more is known about the new variant.

Dr. Kieran Moore, Ontario’s chief medical officer, said two of the potential cases under investigation are in the Hamilton area and two are in Ottawa. That’s in addition to the two confirmed cases in Ottawa announced Sunday.

“I would not be surprised if we find more in Ontario, because we’ve got a very robust surveillance system,” Moore said, noting that Ontario is performing genome sequencing on all eligible positive COVID-19 tests.

The new variant, which may be more transmissible, has prompted several countries including Canada to introduce travel restrictions.

Those have focused on countries in southern Africa where the variant is known to be circulating, though cases have since been found across the globe.

Moore said the two people in Ottawa confirmed to have the variant had recently been in Nigeria. They were first tested for the virus in Montreal, when they arrived in Canada, and are currently in isolation, he said.

The City of Hamilton said two of its residents under investigation for the variant had recently returned from South Africa. It said genome sequencing results were expected “in the coming days.”

Public health units are also reaching out to 375 people who have returned from countries deemed by the federal government to be high risk for the variant and are offering them testing, Moore said.

Ontario wants testing to be offered to all returning travellers, not just those from the designated countries, and Moore said Ontario is working with Ottawa on the idea, after Premier Doug Ford called for it on Friday.

Health Minister Christine Elliott said Monday that testing for all travellers is “one of the most important things that we need to do to protect Ontarians” from the variant.

The province was also mulling an acceleration of its third-dose COVID-19 vaccine rollout.