New Delhi: Canada has detected 15 infections of the novel Omicron variant of COVID-19, and severe sickness patterns throughout the country may begin to climb again, according to public health experts on Friday.
The federal government said it agreed with a national advisory body on vaccines' suggestion that all persons over the age of 50 receive a booster dose six months after completing a vaccine series.
Ottawa stated last week that passengers travelling by plane from all countries except the United States will be required to undergo a COVID-19 test, and it extended a prohibition on visitors from southern Africa to encompass ten countries.
"The need for heightened vigilance remains, regardless of which variant is circulating," chief public health officer Theresa Tam was quoted by Reuters in its report.
She disclosed 11 Omicron cases, all of which involved patients who had just visited overseas.
Within hours following her remarks, the city of York announced that a youngster under the age of 12 had been diagnosed with Omicron. According to a statement, the youngster had lately been to southern Africa.
Toronto then reported its first three instances of the Omicron COVID-19 strain late on Friday, according to local health officials, with two of those persons having recently returned from Nigeria and another having recently returned from Switzerland.
"Currently severe illness trends have levelled off, but are still elevated and could begin to rise again unless we keep infection rates down," Tam said.
(With inputs from Reuters)