Maritime provinces testing some travellers for COVID-19 Omicron variant
The new COVID-19 variant has Maritime public health officials on alert.
On Friday, federal counterparts notified Maritime officials of travellers who had already arrived in the region over the past 14 days from countries in southern Africa flagged by Ottawa – a list of nations that has grown as of Monday.
Travellers from 10 nations in the area are now banned from entering Canada.
“We have ten people that were identified as being recent travellers to southern Africa,” says Nova Scotia’s Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Robert Strang.
Strang says those people were all tested and results are pending.
A number of travellers to Prince Edward Island were also identified, although a provincial representative didn’t respond by deadline when CTV inquired.
Eight people arriving in New Brunswick were also identified and tested.
All of the travellers are now in quarantine.
“We're going to continue to do that kind of surveillance again with PCR testing for international travellers,” says Dr. Jennifer Russell, New Brunswick’s chief medical officer of health.
Both Strang and Russell say the labs in their respective provinces can screen samples for the Omicron variant. Those results would then be confirmed by the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg, while P.E.I. sends all its positive COVID-19 results there anyway.
P.E.I. Chief Public Health Officer, Dr. Heather Morrison, says getting a confirmation of a variant normally takes several days.
“We send all of them, regardless of the positives cases and their travel history,” she says.
All three officials say the region is in a good position to deal with the likelihood of Omicron’s eventual arrival.
“We have low levels of virus circulation, we have high levels of vaccine coverage,” says Strang. “And we still have some strong measures in place.”
All necessary, he says, to keeping Omicron – or any variant – at bay.
Meanwhile, the federal government announced new requirements for all international travellers to Canada. All of them, except for those coming from the United States, now have to be tested at the airport upon arrival.
As for whether provincial officials will be taking any extra measures, they say they are waiting for more information.
Morrison says getting a better understanding of the variant is a key part of making those decisions.
“Are we doing everything we can to protect Islanders, when we don't know everything yet about this variant and how effective our vaccine is against it?” Morrison asks.
“It does mean that we are evaluating if there are any other additional changes and measures and recommendations that we need to consider,” says Russell.
Those discussions will take place in earnest this week, as the federal government tracks the variant around the world and in Canada.
Meanwhile, at a COVID-19 testing center in Halifax on Tuesday, some Nova Scotians took the news of a new variant in stride.
Jeff Kowalski and his wife brought their three-year-old daughter for testing after an exposure notice at her daycare.
“We're obviously concerned but I think we've been safe and careful and we'll just keep continuing what we've been doing,” he says.
Rachel Wozney came to get tested after returning from a trip to P.E.I.
“We've been able to quell all the outbreaks as they crop up,” Wozney says. “And I’m sure that we'll be able to handle this as well if it makes its way here.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Winning $70 million Lotto Max ticket sold in Toronto
A winning Lotto Max ticket was sold in Toronto from last night's draw.
They were from different countries and barely spoke each other's languages. More than 20 years later, they're still happily in love
He decided to spend Christmas somewhere that wouldn't involve snowstorm disasters. She was spending the holidays with family, travelling for the first time outside of her native country of Venezuela. 23 years later, they're still in love.
Man who set himself on fire outside Trump trial dies of injuries, police say
A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former U.S. President Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said.
What's a Barnacle? It's yellow, sticks and screams if you try to pry it off your car
Barnacles, bright yellow devices used to make sure parking scofflaws pay their tickets, could soon be making their way to cities across Canada.
Verdun Airbnb listing taken down amid complaints, fines and frustration from neighbours
An Airbnb in Montreal's Verdun borough was the source of much frustration from neighbours who say there were constant parties at the location. It has been taken down from the app, but housing advocates remain upset about short-term rentals.
Young people 'tortured' if stolen vehicle operations fail, Montreal police tell MPs
One day after a Montreal police officer fired gunshots at a suspect in a stolen vehicle, senior officers were telling parliamentarians that organized crime groups are recruiting people as young as 15 in the city to steal cars so that they can be shipped overseas.
Moscow says 50 Ukrainian drones shot down as attacks spark fires at Russian power stations
Ukraine launched a barrage of drones across Russia overnight, the Defence Ministry in Moscow said Saturday, in attacks that appeared to target the country's energy infrastructure.
A Nigerian chess champion plays the royal game for 60 hours - a new global chess record
A Nigerian chess champion and child education advocate played chess nonstop for 60 hours in New York City's Times Square to break the Guinness World Record for the longest chess marathon.
Fire in Labrador town under control, officials tells residents to stay away
RCMP say the fire that prompted a state of emergency in a Labrador town is now under control.