CANMORE, ALTA. —
Officials have confirmed the first cases detected in Canada of the Omicron COVID-19 variant amid warnings that it remains unclear just how transmissible and severe infection by the highly-mutated variant might be.
On Sunday, it was revealed that two people from Ottawa, who had returned from a trip to Nigeria, tested positive for the variant of concern first detected in southern Africa.
The travellers entered Canada at Montreal’s Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport, where COVID-19 testing was completed, and then travelled to Ottawa, Ontario officials said Monday. The patients are in isolation and Ottawa Public Health is conducting case and contact management.
The province is also following up on four more possible cases of the Omicron variant — two in the Hamilton, Ont., area and two in Ottawa.
Ontario is the first province to confirm detected cases of the variant, but health officials across the country have commenced targeted testing of people who have travelled from one of the seven southern African countries under federal travel restrictions.
Alberta’s top doctor said Sunday that public health officials in her province were contacting people who had travelled from “one of the countries of interest” in the past 14 days to tell them to self-isolate.
“We are working with health officials across the country to monitor the Omicron situation closely,” Dr. Deena Hinshaw tweeted on Sunday. “There are currently no confirmed cases of this COVID-19 variant in Alberta.”
Experts warned it was only a matter of time before the variant made its way into Canada. And while federal officials say the detection of the cases shows COVID-19 screening efforts are working, Federal Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos says Canadians should expect more cases of the variant to be confirmed on Canadian soil.
“This development demonstrates that our monitoring system is working,” Federal Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos said in a statement Sunday.
“As the monitoring and testing continues with provinces and territories, it is expected that other cases of this variant will be found in Canada.”
WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT THE OMICRON VARIANT
Little is known about the B.1.1.529 variant, now known as Omicron, which was declared a variant of concern last week by the World Health Organization (WHO).
Initial research into Omicron has sparked concern from researchers because it has more than 30 mutations of the spike protein which can change the way a virus infects cells and spreads. These mutations can also make it harder to for the body’s immune system to attack it.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Ontario’s chief medical officer of health, Dr. Kieran Moore, said it is still too early to determine what impact the Omicron variant may have on public health protocols or the province’s health-care system, noting a lack of data on the transmissibility of the variant.
“When we saw Delta take over as a dominant strain, it took three to four months… it may be a two to three month transition if [Omicron] is more infectious than Delta,” he said. “We will have greater clarity in the coming weeks.”
TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS DRAW IRE
Confirmation of the arrival of the B.1.1.529 variant in Canada comes just days after the country implemented new travel restrictions on foreign nationals who had visited several countries in southern Africa in the last two weeks.
Nigeria, however, is not on the list of countries affected by Canada’s travel ban.
Moore said Monday that the province is conducting genomic sequencing on all eligible COVID-19 tests in the province in order to screen for Omicron and other variants.
Moore said that, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada, 375 people have returned from those countries of concern and will be contacted to undergo testing for the Omicron variant.
With cases now confirmed in 15 countries – including Scotland, Germany, Australia and Hong Kong – there has been some concern that restricting flights from African countries alone is not enough to stop the spread of the variant.
“These travel bans on particular countries in southern Africa are not going to be sufficient or are not going to be what stems the flow of the Omicron variant across our country,” infectious disease expert Dr. Dale Kalina told CTV News Channel Monday.
“The reality is it’s already here and it’s not probably just from individuals who travel to other countries, as we’re seeing around the world.”
“What we do have in place already here in Canada is quarantine measures and vaccination mandates for anyone who’s coming into the country… and those are the types of things that are really going to help us.”
The federal government is expected to be questioned Monday whether it will expand those travel restrictions to include more countries.
This comes ahead of new re-entry testing requirements for fully vaccinated Canadians and permanent residents. As of Nov. 30, fully vaccinated residents returning home after short trips to the United States and abroad will no longer have to provide proof of a negative molecular test, such as a PCR test.
A molecular test is still required for re-entry of those taking trips abroad lasting more than 72 hours.
Meanwhile, Ontario officials are urging the federal government to take stronger action at the border, suggesting that everyone be tested for COVID-19 upon arrival, not just before leaving for Canada.
“The best defence against the omicron variant is stopping it at our border. In addition to the measures recently announced, we continue to urge the federal government to take the necessary steps to mandate point-of-arrival testing for all travellers irrespective of where they’re coming from to further protect against the spread of this new variant,” read Sunday’s joint statement from Moore and Ontario Health Minister Christine Elliott.
Demands for government intervention in Air Canada labour talks could negatively affect airline competition in Canada, the CEO of travel company Transat AT Inc. said.
“The extension of such an extraordinary intervention to Air Canada would be an undeniable competitive advantage to the detriment of other Canadian airlines,” Annick Guérard told analysts on an earnings conference call on Thursday.
“The time and urgency is now. It is time to restore healthy competition in Canada,” she added.
Air Canada has asked the federal government to be ready to intervene and request arbitration as early as this weekend to avoid disruptions.
Comments on the potential Air Canada pilot strike or lock out came as Transat reported third-quarter financial results.
Guérard recalled Transat’s labour negotiations with its flight attendants earlier this year, which the company said it handled without asking for government intervention.
The airline’s 2,100 flight attendants voted 99 per cent in favour of a strike mandate and twice rejected tentative deals before approving a new collective agreement in late February.
As the collective agreement for Air Transat pilots ends in June next year, Guérard anticipates similar pressure to increase overall wages as seen in Air Canada’s negotiations, but reckons it will come out “as a win, win, win deal.”
“The pilots are preparing on their side, we are preparing on our side and we’re confident that we’re going to come up with a reasonable deal,” she told analysts when asked about the upcoming negotiations.
The parent company of Air Transat reported it lost $39.9 million or $1.03 per diluted share in its quarter ended July 31. The result compared with a profit of $57.3 million or $1.49 per diluted share a year earlier.
Revenue totalled $736.2 million, down from $746.3 million in the same quarter last year.
On an adjusted basis, Transat says it lost $1.10 per share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of $1.10 per share a year earlier.
It attributed reduced revenues to lower airline unit revenues, competition, industry-wide overcapacity and economic uncertainty.
Air Transat is also among the airlines facing challenges related to the recall of Pratt & Whitney turbofan jet engines for inspection and repair.
The recall has so far grounded six aircraft, Guérard said on the call.
“We have agreed to financial compensation for grounded aircraft during the 2023-2024 period,” she said. “Alongside this financial compensation, Pratt & Whitney will provide us with two additional spare engines, which we intend to monetize through a sell and lease back transaction.”
Looking ahead, the CEO said she expects consumer demand to remain somewhat uncertain amid high interest rates.
“We are currently seeing ongoing pricing pressure extending into the winter season,” she added. Air Transat is not planning on adding additional aircraft next year but anticipates stability.
“(2025) for us will be much more stable than 2024 in terms of fleet movements and operation, and this will definitely have a positive effect on cost and customer satisfaction as well,” the CEO told analysts.
“We are more and more moving away from all the disruption that we had to go through early in 2024,” she added.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
