Ontario preparing ‘enhanced strategy’ to fight COVID-19’s Omicron variant

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This article was published 28/11/2021 (1125 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Ontario has confirmed two more suspected cases of COVID-19’s Omicron variant in Ottawa and is investigating two in Hamilton as it prepares an “enhanced strategy” with accelerated booster vaccinations to fight the virus.

The two new cases in the nation’s capital, confirmed by the local health unit Monday evening, are in addition to two identified in people who travelled from Nigeria to Montreal, were tested there, and continued on to Ottawa. With one case reported in Quebec, Canada’s total of confirmed Omicron cases stood late Monday at five.

There are 375 people who need to be tested for COVID-19 after travelling to Ontario in the last two weeks from seven southern African countries named in travel restrictions by the federal government on Friday. Nigeria, however, was not on that list, which has both Ontario and Quebec urging the federal government to review its list of countries from which travel is currently banned.

Regional public health units are reaching out to those people to offer tests, said Ontario’s chief medical officer Dr. Kieran Moore. Health Minister Christine Elliott asked anyone who travelled to the affected countries this month to get tested immediately.

“If we see widespread presence of Omicron across Ontario, which is not the case at present, then we could review any measures we need to take at the provincial level,” Moore told a news conference Monday.

He asked people to remain “remain calm, remain science-driven” until more is known about Omicron’s virulence and the effectiveness of vaccines against it, which could take a couple of weeks.

“I don’t foresee having to take any steps back at present,” he added, referring to public health restrictions such as the capacity limits that were eased earlier this fall.

Moore said, however, there could be pressure once again for the federal government to limit the number of Canadian airports where international flights land, and he called for a “review” of plans to lift the requirement for Canadians to get tested for COVID-19 if they visit the United States or for less than 72 hours.

Elliott said the federal government may have to add other countries to the list of those for which travel to Canada has been suspended. It now includes South Africa, Mozambique, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Eswatini and Namibia.

“We are continuing to ask the federal government to make sure everyone is tested regardless of where they come from,” Elliott told the legislature, where opposition parties said the province must be ready to move quickly in the face of the potential Omicron threat.

“People are really worried and they want to see government take action to stop this Omicron variant from getting a foothold,” said NDP Leader Andrea Horwath, calling for more paid sick days for workers and expanded booster eligibility.

Moore encouraged more Ontarians to get vaccinated against COVID-19 or get booster shots, which are now available to people with certain immune-compromised conditions and to anyone over 70, or anyone who received two doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine or one dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, providing their last shot was at least 168 days ago.

“We’re also looking at other age groups for the booster,” said Elliott.

A plan on next steps will be out by the end of the week, Moore indicated. He described the Omicron situation as “fluid,” as it has the potential to overtake the dominant Delta variant within two or three months if it proves stronger.

He stressed Ontario has plenty of hospital capacity to deal with COVID-19 cases, and noted a “slight uptick” in intensive care unit admissions recently. Infections were up 20 per cent in the last week, compared to a 15 per cent increase the previous week.

More than 86 per cent of Ontarians aged 12 and up are fully vaccinated. To date, almost 68,000 of about one million children aged five to 11 have been given Pfizer COVID-19 shots.

The Novavax vaccine is expected to be approved for use on adults in Canada in the coming weeks, and is a different formulation that could appeal to people who have been reluctant to take the Pfizer, Moderna or AstraZeneca vaccines, Moore said.

In Ottawa, federal Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos would not reveal if any new measures were pending, despite calls from Ontario and Quebec for Ottawa to take more action to stop the spread of the new variant.

Duclos would tell reporters only that he is “preparing something” and “we want to do things the right way.”

In Quebec, Health Minister Christian Dubé said Canada may need to add “additional countries” including Nigeria to its latest travel restrictions list.

Dubé said he asked Duclos to impose stricter testing requirements on all travellers arriving at airports.

“He told me that they were currently in discussion because that’s exactly what Ontario has been asking,” Dubé said.

With files from Tonda MacCharles

Rob Ferguson is a Toronto-based reporter covering Ontario politics for the Star. Follow him on Twitter: @robferguson1