N.B. COVID-19 roundup: Province records first case of new Omicron subvariant
CBC
The new Omicron subvariant BA.2 has arrived in New Brunswick, the Department of Heath announced Friday.
A person in the Moncton region, Zone 1, has tested positive, the microbiology lab at the Dr. Georges-L.-Dumont University Hospital Centre in Moncton has confirmed.
BA.2 is believed to be more transmissible than the BA.1 Omicron variant already hammering the province.
No information about the person's condition, vaccination status or the source of infection has been released.
Department of Health officials could not immediately be reached for comment.
"While the impact of all variants continues to be monitored, we know that vaccination — including a booster — in combination with Public Health and individual measures, is key to reducing the spread of COVID-19 and its variants," Dr. Jennifer Russell, chief medical officer of health, said in a statement.
BA.2 is now spreading in more than 50 countries around the world.
Last Friday, Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada's chief medical health officer, said while the country's overall Omicron wave appears to be peaking, it could be extended by the subvariant.
Denmark's leading public health institute found it could be 1.5 times more infectious — highlighting the threat of the rapidly mutating virus.
Danish scientists reported, however, there's no difference in hospitalizations when compared with BA.1, and vaccines are expected to continue offering protection against severe illness.
More than 100 cases of BA.2 have been detected in Canada since November, with about 77 of those identifications coming from the National Microbiology Laboratory, and the rest from provinces and territories, Tam said.
"I encourage everyone to book their vaccine appointment or attend a walk-in immunization clinic," said Russell, "as we know this is the best defence against these variants and will reduce the risk of severe outcomes and hospitalizations."
Another New Brunswicker with COVID-19 has died, marking 24 COVID-related deaths in less than a week.
The latest death is a person in their 80s in the Bathurst region, Zone 6, the COVID dashboard shows.
This story is part of CBC Health's Second Opinion, a weekly analysis of health and medical science news emailed to subscribers on Saturday mornings. If you haven't subscribed yet, you can do that by clicking here.
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