Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will speak by phone to the premiers of the country's 10 provinces on Tuesday to discuss the rapidly spreading Omicron variant of the coronavirus, his office said.
Separately, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland told reporters that Ottawa would act quickly and do what was necessary but gave no details.Canada has already announced a ban on people who recently traveled to 10 countries in Africa.
Omicron, which health officials say is more contagious than the currently dominant Delta variant, has started spreading locally within communities in Canada since being first detected in November. Ontario, the most populous of the 10 provinces, has paused plans to remove pandemic-related curbs and asked staff to continue working from home. It announced measures on Tuesday to protect those living in long-term care and retirement homes.
"Data suggests that each Omicron case is infecting four to eight times more individuals than the Delta variant, and it is rapidly becoming the dominant strain in Ontario," Chief Medical Officer Kieran Moore told a briefing. Neighboring Quebec is recruiting more people to give vaccinations as it ramps up distribution of booster shots, health minister Christian Dube told reporters.paused its office re-opening plan for more employees until the end of January due to worries about Omicron, the Toronto-based insurer said on Tuesday. That followed a similar move by Canada's third-largest lender, Bank of Nova Scotia, on Monday.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Omicron: Curbs on people meeting in Wales on the cardsHousehold bubbles could return as officials prepare to battle Omicron variant of coronavirus.
Read more »
Omicron now in the District, Maryland and Virginia, with first case present for weeksThe omicron variant of the coronavirus has been detected across the region as of the weekend.
Read more »
U.S. crosses 50 million COVID-19 cases as Delta dominates amid Omicron emergenceThe United States crossed 50 million coronavirus cases on Sunday, according to Reuters tally, as the Delta variant continues to threaten Americans and the newly discovered Omicron variant spreads.
Read more »
First Person Dies From Omicron Covid Variant In U.K.I am a London-based reporter for Forbes covering breaking news. Previously, I have worked as a reporter for a specialist legal publication covering big data and as a freelance journalist and policy analyst covering science, tech and health. I have a master’s degree in Biological Natural Sciences and a master’s degree in the History and Philosophy of Science from the University of Cambridge. Follow me on Twitter theroberthart or email me at rhartforbes.com
Read more »
Explainer: How worried should we be about the Omicron variant?The Omicron coronavirus variant has been detected in 77 countries since it was first identified three weeks ago, fueling concerns that its large number of mutations will help it spread faster and evade protection provided by COVID-19 vaccines or prior infection.
Read more »