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Two cases of the Omicron Covid-19 have been detected in Canada.

Cases recently travelled to Nigeria

According to Reuters, the two cases have recently travelled to Nigeria.

The Ottawa Public Health is conducting contact tracing, and the patients are in isolation.

A variant of concern

The Omicron Covid-19 variant was first detected in the South African region.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Nov. 26 that it has classified the Omicron variant as a variant of concern (VOC).

The WHO added that the variant has a large number of mutations, some of which are "concerning".

Preliminary evidence also suggests an increased risk of reinfection with this variant, as compared to other VOCs.

Research underway

In an update on Nov. 28, the WHO said that researchers in South Africa and around the world are conducting studies to "better understand many aspects of Omicron".

The findings of these studies will be shared when they become available.

The WHO said that it is currently unclear if the Omicron variant is more transmissible compared to other variants, including Delta.

It is also unclear if the Omicron variant causes more severe disease compared to infections with the other variants.

Preliminary data suggests that there are increasing rates of hospitalisation in South Africa, but the WHO added that this may be due to increasing overall numbers of people becoming infected.

There is currently no information to suggest that symptoms associated with Omicron are different from those from other variants, said the WHO.

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Top image by Sebastiaan Stam via Unsplash.