First Case Of Highly Mutated Coronavirus Variant BA.2.86 Detected In Canada: Report

Canada has detected its first case of coronavirus infection from the highly mutated BA.2.86 variant of Omicron in a person in British Columbia.

Canada detected its first case of coronavirus infection from the highly mutated BA.2.86 variant of Omicron, health officials informed on Tuesday, as reported by the news agency Reuters. As per the officials, the variant was detected in a person in British Columbia who had not travelled outside the Pacific province.

The person has not been admitted to a hospital, and the detection of the BA.2.86 virus has not changed the risk to people in British Columbia, the province's top doctor, Bonnie Henry, and Health Minister Adrian Dix said in a joint statement. "It was not unexpected for BA.2.86 to show up in Canada and the province," they said, as quoted by Reuters. "COVID-19 continues to spread globally, and the virus continues to adapt."

BA.2.86 Variant, First Detected In Denmark In July

The BA.2.86 lineage was first detected in Denmark last month, as per Reuters.

It carries more than 35 mutations in key portions of the virus compared with XBB.1.5, the dominant variant through most of 2023. The United States, Switzerland, and Israel have also recorded cases of the new variant. Last week, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stated that the variant is likely to be more capable of causing infection in people who have had Covid-19 in the past or who have received preventive vaccines.

As per the scientists, while it was important to monitor BA.2.86, it was unlikely to cause a devastating wave of severe disease and death given the immune defences built up worldwide from vaccination and prior infection.

On Tuesday, Health Canada said that the Canadian health authorities have recorded an increase in Covid infections in recent weeks, though virus activity has been relatively low, as per Reuters.

China Drops Covid-19 Testing Requirement For Those Entering Country

China announced on Monday that it will drop COVID-19 testing requirements for people arriving from overseas, as reported by news agency AP. In a press briefing in press briefing, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said that the pandemic testing requirements would be dropped starting Wednesday. It is a milestone toward ending the virus restrictions imposed in China since early 2020.

Earlier in March, China reopened its borders to foreign tourists for the first time in three years since the COVID-19 pandemic erupted. Back then, Beijing said that it will start re-issuing all categories of visas, reported the news agency Reuters.

This news of removing the last cross-border control measure to guard against COVID-19 came approximately a month after the authorities declared victory over the virus. This decision was part of a larger effort to normalise two-way travel between China and the rest of the world.