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First case of new Omicron COVID-19 variant confirmed in Hamilton

One of two Hamilton area residents who traveled to Africa was the first in the city to test positive for the Omicron COVID-19 variant, according to public health.

The city agency said test results from an Ontario lab confirmed the results on Saturday, just days after the province’s top doctor unveiled an investigation.

Chief medical officer, Dr Kieran Moore said two individuals returned from Africa, tested positive for COVID, and had submitted samples for genome sequencing.

City health officials have advised anyone who has been to Botswana, Egypt, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa and Zimbabwe within the 14 days before arriving in Hamilton to self-isolate. even when vaccinated.

Read more:

COVID-19: More Omicron cases emerge in Ontario amid Delta-driven surge

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They also recommend that travelers get tested for COVID-19 at a local assessment center, regardless of whether they have symptoms or not.

As of Friday, at least four provinces across Canada have reported Omicron cases, with seven in Ontario, three in Alberta, one in BC and a single case in Quebec.

Despite the emergence of the new variant, deputy director of public health Dr Howard Njoo said Friday Delta remains a top concern for Canadian public health because Omicron is not yet widespread.

According to Canadian health officials, the jury is still out on whether the new variant is more contagious, could cause more serious illness, and/or could evade the protection of the COVID vaccine. -19 is available.

“Delta is the variant we’re interested in – and the vaccines we’re using today are effective against fatal disease and effective against Delta,” Njoo said in French.

The World Health Organization (WHO) is expected to have more information on whether Omicron is more transmissible “within days,” according to officials.

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Hamilton reports 36 new COVID-19 cases

Public Health reported 36 new COVID-19 cases in Hamilton on Friday, higher than the average number of cases (24) seen over the past seven days.

The city had an overall average case rate of 19 cases per day for the whole of November.

Active cases were steadily maintained on a daily basis, remaining at 280 as of Nov.

Read more:

Ontario reports more than 1,000 new COVID-19 cases for the first time since late May

More than 78% of all active cases are in people under the age of 50, while 45% are under the age of 30.

The city’s positivity percentage – which represents the number of positive tests from labs – dropped slightly over the week to 2.2 percent from 2.4 percent. This is still below the provincial average of 2.9% reported on Friday.

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The city revealed three new outbreaks on Friday, the largest of which involved four with a truck rental company. There are 13 aggregate outbreaks across Hamilton involving a total of 37 cases.

Two school outbreaks were closed on Thursday: at Rehoboth Christian School and St. Gabriel. The increase at St Gabriel involves a total of 14 cases – one among staff and 13 among students.

In the past 14 days, both public boards combined have reported 84 cases, of which 59 are schoolchildren. 21 of the cases are linked to ongoing disease outbreaks.

There are 13 outbreaks reported in the city involving a total of 37 cases.

Read more:

Potential COVID exposure at Toronto restaurant may be related to Omicron . variant

Hamilton hospitals are reporting a total of 15 COVID-19 patients as of Friday, more than the 14 patients reported on Thursday.

Both St. Joe’s and Hamilton both average less than one new hospital admission per day.

More than 83.5% Hamiltonians 12 and older are eligible to be fully immunized

Over the past seven days, Hamilton’s medical partners have administered nearly 16,000 doses of the vaccine, with Friday’s largest injection of the week – 2,857.

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With the COVID-19 vaccine being made available to children aged five to 11, the city has seen a 67.9% increase in doses given over seven days.

Read more:

York Region confirms first case of COVID-19 variant Omicron in children under 12 years old

As of Wednesday, 83.5% of eligible Hamiltonians over the age of 12 were fully immunized while 86.4% had received at least a single dose. The city is still behind the provincial average with 87.2% fully vaccinated, 90% vaccinated with at least one dose of vaccine.

People aged 70 to 84 years have met the Ministry of Health’s target of 90% coverage of the first and second doses.

Hamiltonians ages 25 to 29 represent the lowest vaccination rates among eligible people in the community, just over 73.6% fully immunized.

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