The Canadian province of Alberta has reported the first case of a coronavirus Omicron variant infection of a returning traveller who visited Nigeria and the Netherlands, Alberta's Chief Medical Officer of Health Deena Hinshaw said.
"[W]e have now one confirmed case of the Omicron variant in Alberta. This case has been confirmed in a returning traveller from Nigeria and the Netherlands. The individual tested positive while asymptomatic and I can confirm that this individual has not left quarantine since their arrival from international travel," Hinshaw said during a press briefing on Tuesday.
The arrival of the more transmissible strain of the novel coronavirus has been anticipated by the Alberta authorities, which are well prepared for any future eventuality linked to the spread of the new variant, Hinshaw said.
Following the announcement, the federal health ministry of Canada announced it had added Egypt, Nigeria and Malawi to its travel ban list over the Omicron variant.
Earlier on Tuesday, Canadian officials said that there are currently at least five confirmed cases of Omicron infection in the country with four of them being in Ottawa.
(To receive our E-paper on whatsapp daily, please click here. We permit sharing of the paper's PDF on WhatsApp and other social media platforms.)