(File photo/CJME News)

By CKOM News

OMICRON SASKATCHEWAN

No cases of Omicron COVID variant found yet in Saskatchewan

Nov 30, 2021 | 2:02 PM

Saskatchewan Health Minister Paul Merriman said he’s keeping “a close eye” on new information about the COVID-19 Omicron variant.

The new viral strain was first identified in South Africa between Nov. 14 and 16. There’s concern among scientists worldwide that it may be even more transmissible than the Delta variant, and could evade vaccine protection, although much more information is still needed.

Cases have now spread to more than a dozen countries, including Canada. Several cases have already been identified in Ontario and Quebec.

Merriman said he has been in talks with Chief Medical Health Officer Dr. Saqib Shahab.

“We’re keeping a very close eye. I met with Dr. Shahab specifically on this, to get his point of view, and he’s keeping a very, very close eye to make sure when we do get some information that we’ll be able to give that out to the general public. But right now, it’s status quo,” Merriman told reporters in the Legislature on Monday.

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Merriman said no cases of the new variant have been identified in Saskatchewan, but provincial labs are ready and able to identify it.

“I’m told that our labs are ready to go to be able to make sure that we can test for this specific variant,” he said.

According to the province, 40 people from Saskatchewan who recently returned from Africa are in quarantine but have yet to test positive.

At this point, Merriman said the province is doing its own “risk assessment” and again encouraged people to get their COVID vaccinations.

“The best thing to be able to defend yourself against these variants is to get vaccinated — fully vaccinated,” he said.

As for public health orders, at this point, there’s no change either. Last week, the province extended the current masking and proof of vaccination or negative test requirements until Jan. 31.

Meanwhile, University of Saskatchewan microbiologist Joe Blondeau, said it’s not worth overreacting to the Omicron variant until we understand it better.

Blondeau said taking a cautious approach is the responsible reaction to the new variant which has five confirmed cases in Canada.

“I wouldn’t be jumping off a cliff just yet, the reason being is because we just don’t know enough,” said Blondeau. “We still need data that leads us to evidence in which we can make evidence-based decisions.”

What makes Omicron unique compared to other variants is it has more mutations. Of concern for Blondeau is whether these mutations can affect antibodies in individuals who already had the virus, or reduce the effectiveness of vaccines.

While that’s something to watch, Blondeau said he’s encouraged to see many of the early cases of Omicron have been mild so far with infected individuals not requiring hospitalization.

“There’s a lot of innuendo being tossed around within the media and social media. People are making claims which have not been substantiated without any scientific data,” Blondeau said. “It’s kind of a bit of a free-for-all right now.”

Blondeau noted the different reactions to Omicron from governments around the world, saying the precautions are a responsible approach until more facts are known. Canada was one of many countries to ban travellers from countries in southern Africa after the variant was identified.

Blondeau said the scientific community should have more to report on the new variant very soon.

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