Key takeaways:
- On Friday, the province of New Brunswick announced the discovery of a new Omicron subvariant known as BA.2.
- According to the provincial COVID-19 dashboard, one more person has died from COVID-19, bringing the total death to 252.
- According to the province, 401 people have tested positive with a PCR test, and 403 people have tested positive with a rapid test.
The province of New Brunswick announced Friday that it had discovered a new Omicron subvariant called BA.2.
The variant was found in a sample from a person in Zone 1 of the Moncton region, as per a news release from Dr. Georges-L.-Dumont University Hospital Centre’s microbiology laboratory in Moncton.
According to a Danish study, the BA.2 variant, which has spread throughout Denmark, is more transmissible and capable of infecting vaccinated people than BA.1, the more common Omicron variant.
Also read: From tonight’s storm, up to 50 cm of snow is expected in parts of New Brunswick
According to the World Health Organization, this new subvariant is more difficult to detect.
“While the impact of all variants is still being assessed, we know that vaccination – including a booster – combined with public health and individual measures is critical in limiting the spread of COVID-19 and its variants,” said Dr. Jennifer Russell, chief medical officer of health, in a statement.
“I strongly encourage everyone to schedule a vaccine appointment or visit a walk-in immunization clinic, as we know that this is the best defense against these variants and will lower the risk of serious outcomes and hospitalizations.”
Fresh cases have been reported, as well as hospitalizations.
One more person has passed away of COVID-19, according to the provincial COVID-19 dashboard, bringing the overall death count to 252.
There are 163 people in the hospital right now, down two from Thursday. However, three more people are in the intensive care unit (ICU) for 17 people, and three more people are on a ventilator for nine people.
401 people have tested positive with a PCR test, and 403 have tested positive with a rapid test, according to the province.
COVID-19 has forced 399 healthcare workers to take time off from work.
Source: CBC News
Get Canada and New Brunswick News’s top News, Market news, and other worldwide news only on New Brunswick Tribune.
