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Manitoba continues surveillance for Omicron variant

No Omicron cases in Manitoba
lonely traveler
International passengers walk through the arrivals area at Terminal 5 at Heathrow Airport.

There’s very little data available about the newest variant of the SarsCo-V2 virus, Omicron, however Manitoba Public Health is on the lookout, screening test samples and the Canadian government has announced new travel restrictions, regardless of vaccine status, because of the Omicron variant of concern.
It’s different than Delta and has been reported to be gaining prevalence, “taking over” in South Africa, according to a Dec. 3 update in the New York Times - “Scientists Say Omicron Is Spreading Faster in South Africa Than Any Other Variant”.
According to the World Health Organization there’s not enough data to say the Omicron virus is more dangerous and they also say symptoms are similar to most COVID-19 symptoms in general:  www.who.int/news/item/28-11-2021-update-on-omicron
A Healthline article sheds some light on the reason for the concern about the new variant, in this piece - Omicron Symptoms: How They Compare with Other Coronavirus Variants. “The concern with this is the large number of mutations on the virus’s spike protein, which has the potential to be more transmissible and get around our immunity and vaccines,” Rebekah Ann Vreeland Sensenig, DO, an infectious disease expert at Riverside Health System in Virginia, told Healthline.
Health Canada issued a list of no-go countries where Omicron virus has been found, but according to news around the world, the list is quickly becoming outdated.
As of Nov. 30, Minister of Health, the Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos, the Minister of Transport, the Honourable Omar Alghabra, and the Honourable Marco Mendicino, Minister of Public Safety, announced additional border measures to reduce the risk of the importation and transmission of COVID-19 and its variants in Canada related to international travel.
Based on data from ongoing surveillance efforts and the latest public health advice, the Government of Canada expanded the list of countries with entry prohibitions originally announced on Nov. 26, to include Egypt, Nigeria and Malawi. Effective Dec. 1, foreign nationals who have been in any of these countries within the previous 14 days will not be permitted entry into Canada:

Botswana
Egypt;
Eswatini;
Lesotho;
Malawi;
Mozambique;
Namibia;
Nigeria;
South Africa; and
Zimbabwe.

Canadian citizens, permanent residents and people with status under the Indian Act, regardless of their vaccination status or having had a previous history of testing positive for COVID-19, who have been in any of these 10 countries in the previous 14 days, will be subject to enhanced pre-entry and arrival testing, screening, and quarantine measures.
Moving forward, border testing surveillance will be adjusted based on the latest available evidence to further reduce the risk of importation of this variant. In the coming days, all fully vaccinated travellers arriving by air from departure points other than the United States will be subject to arrival testing. Fully vaccinated travellers will be required to quarantine while they await the results of their arrival test.
Unvaccinated travellers, with right of entry to Canada, will continue to be tested on arrival and day 8 and quarantine for 14 days. However, those arriving by air will now be required to stay in a designated quarantine facility or other suitable location while they await the result of their on arrival test.
The Government of Canada will continue to assess the evolving situation, monitor case data, and adjust border measures as required. Find more information here.


No Omicron cases in Manitoba
COVID-19 BULLETIN #535
No cases of the B.1.1.529 (omicron) variant have been detected in Manitoba at this time and the province can confirm that all positive travel-related specimens are being sequenced.
The province continues to monitor the situation and work with federal officials in the fight against COVID-19 and its variants. Federal travel restrictions can be found here.
Anyone returning from a country identified by the Government of Canada as requiring quarantine must self-identify their past 14-day travel history when seeking care at any health-care facility or if calling 911. Visitors who have travelled to any of these countries in the past 14 days will not be permitted access to health-care facilities.
The province urges Manitobans to follow the public health orders, focus on the fundamentals and get vaccinated. Vaccination still provides one of the best defences against COVID-19. Manitobans can find a vaccine location at https://protectmb.ca/making-your-appointment-is-easy/.
Public health officials advise seven new deaths in people with COVID-19 are being reported today:
a female in her 70s from the Southern Health-Santé Sud health region, linked to an outbreak at Salem Home (reported Thursday);
a male in his 80s from the Prairie Mountain Health region (reported Thursday);
a male in his 90s from the Southern Health-Santé Sud health region, linked to an outbreak at Third Crossing Manor (reported Thursday);
a male in his 70s from the Prairie Mountain Health region (reported Friday);
a male in his 70s from the Winnipeg health region (reported Friday);
a female in her 80s from the Winnipeg health region (reported Friday); and
a female in her 100s from the Winnipeg health region (reported Friday).

Today's five-day COVID-19 test positivity rate is 5.1 per cent provincially and 2.7 per cent in Winnipeg. As of 9:30 a.m. today, 319 new cases of the virus have been identified since Wednesday: 172 cases on Thursday, Dec. 2; and 147 cases Dec.3. By Region:
Interlake-Eastern – 30 cases
Northern – 36 cases
Prairie Mountain – 30 cases
Southern Health-Santé Sud – 129 cases
Winnipeg – 94

Ten cases have been removed due to data correction. The total number of lab-confirmed cases in Manitoba is 68,308.
Of the 147 new cases identified on Dec. 3, there were 95 cases among individuals not fully vaccinated and 52 cases among fully vaccinated. 
Today’s data also shows:
1,403 active cases and 65,577 individuals who have recovered from COVID-19;
141 Manitobans hospitalized with COVID-19 including 88 people with active COVID-19 as well as 53 people who are no longer infectious;
a total of 23 Manitoba patients receiving intensive care for COVID-19 including 16 people in intensive care units with active COVID-19 as well as seven people who are no longer infectious but continue to require critical care;
the total number of deaths in people with COVID-19 is 1,328.

Vaccine
Eligibility for first and second doses of the COVID-19 vaccine includes anyone ages five or older. A third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine is now available to all adults a minimum of six months after their last dose with limited exceptions. More information is available at https://manitoba.ca/covid19/vaccine/eligibility-criteria.html#third.
A total of 2,188,316 doses of vaccine have been administered in Manitoba, including 20,337 first doses given to children ages five to 11. This represents 16.2 per cent of children in that age group. As of today, 81.1 per cent of all eligible Manitobans ages five and up have received at least one dose of the vaccine and 77.2 per cent have received two doses. Manitoba’s online vaccine dashboard will be updated in the coming days to include updated statistics about this demographic, as well as third doses.
Many Manitoba vaccine sites are offering walk-in and appointment-based vaccinations for COVID and seasonal flu. Eligible individuals can book their appointments online or by calling (toll-free) 1-844-626-8222 (1-844-MAN-VACC). For hours and days of operation, visit: www.gov.mb.ca/covid19/vaccine/finder.html.
Additional online resources are available on the following topics: vaccine campaign in Manitoba  here and here; 
possible exposure locations by region  here; data related to COVID-19, variants of concern, outbreaks and some downloadable and historic data here; and up-to-date information on COVID-19 in Manitoba here.
 

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