Omicron subvariant BA.2 detected in Ontario
Health officials say they've detected at least 15 cases of the COVID-19 Omicron subvariant BA.2 in Ontario.
Public Health Ontario released the latest data on Friday afternoon, saying that eight of the cases were identified between Jan. 1, 2021 and Dec. 11, 2021, while the seven remaining cases were found between Dec. 12, 2021 and Jan. 8, 2022.
BA.2 is a descendant of the highly transmissible Omicron variant and has been found in at least 40 countries so far. It was first detected in November last year.
While the World Health Organization (WHO) has not yet dubbed BA.2 a "variant of concern," it is tracking its spread.
The subvariant is widely considered stealthier than the original version because particular genetic traits make it somewhat harder to detect. Some scientists have expressed worry that it could also be more contagious.
It is not yet clear whether it evades vaccines better or causes more severe disease.
The Omicron variant, B.1.1.529, has four sub-lineages: BA.1, BA.1.1, BA.2 and BA.3.
Seven of the 15 cases in Ontario are from Toronto. Public Health Ontario did not identify the location of the remaining eight cases.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Federal employees will be required to spend 3 days a week in the office
Starting in September, public servants in the core public administration will be required to work in the office a minimum of three days a week. The Treasury Board Secretariat says executives will need to be in the office four days per week.
Concerns about plexiglass prompt inspections at some Loblaws locations in Ottawa
Inspections are underway at more than one Loblaws location in Ottawa after complaints were filed about tall plexiglass barriers.
OPP officer said 'someone's going to get hurt' before wrong-way Hwy. 401 crash
As multiple Durham police cruisers were chasing a robbery suspect on the wrong side of Highway 401 Monday night, an Ontario Provincial Police officer shared his concerns, telling a dispatcher, "Someone's going to get hurt."
Canada's most wanted fugitive arrested in P.E.I. in connection with Toronto homicide
A suspect in a fatal shooting in Toronto’s east end last summer has been arrested in Charlottetown, just one week after he topped a list of Canada’s most wanted fugitives.
Poilievre returns to House unrepentant for calling Trudeau 'wacko,' Speaker not resigning
An unrepentant Pierre Poilievre returned to the House of Commons on Wednesday to pepper the prime minister about his drug decriminalization policies after being booted the day prior for refusing to take back calling Justin Trudeau 'wacko' over his approach to the issue.
Five human skeletons, missing hands and feet, found outside house of Nazi leader Hermann Göring
Archeologists have unearthed the skeletons of five people, missing their hands and feet, at a former Nazi military base in Poland.
Toddler of Phoenix first responder dies after bounce house goes airborne
A two-year-old child died after a strong gust of wind sent the bounce house he was in airborne and into a neighbouring lot in central Arizona, the Pinal County Sheriff's Office said.
Plane overshoots runway at airport in St. John's, N.L., no injuries reported
Investigators from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada are headed to St. John's, N.L., after a plane overshot a runway at the city's airport this afternoon.
A teen was found buried in a basement in New York. An engraved ring helped police learn her identity two decades later
Investigators have finally revealed the identity of an unknown victim nicknamed 'Midtown Jane Doe,' who was found in the Hell's Kitchen neighbourhood of New York City two decades ago.