Omicron’s community transmission could ‘rapidly escalate’ in coming days, Tam warns
Global News
The Omicron variant of COVID-19 is also already spreading through Canadian neighborhoods, Tam warned, and is no longer only tied to international travel.
The Omicron COVID-19 variant could ramp up its spread through Canadian communities in the coming days, chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam warned on Monday.
The new variant of COVID-19 is also already spreading through neighbourhoods, she warned, and is no longer only tied to travel.
“There is community transmission of (the) Omicron variant in Canada,” Tam said, adding that the variant is “highly transmissible.”
“What we’re seeing in Ontario, I expect to be seen in other areas of the country, as has been seen in Europe and other areas of the world…. We are seeing community transmission, possibly in its early stages, but this can rapidly escalate in the days to come.”
The Omicron variant is already ripping through countries around the world. It is expected to become the dominant variant in London, England within the next 48 hours, according to Reuters, and is expected to be the most prevalent variant in Denmark by the end of the week.
Canada has heard similarly dire warnings about Omicron’s projected pervasiveness within our own borders.
According to Tam’s latest COVID-19 projections, which she unveiled on Friday, Canada is currently seeing a Delta variant-driven resurgence of cases. However, if infections keep rising and Omicron takes hold, that variant could outpace Delta and drive infections up to 26,600 a day by mid-January.
Speaking to CP24 on Monday morning, Dr. Peter Jüni, the head of Ontario’s Science Advisory Table, warned that Omicron will become the dominant strain in the province before the end of this week.
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