Adam Prudhomme
Editor
A case of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 has been confirmed in the KFLA region.
Speaking with local media on Wednesday, KFLA Public Health medical officer of health Dr. Piotr Oglaza broke the news of the discovery of the latest variant of concern, which was detected on Nov. 28 and later confirmed as Omicron.
The news comes on a day when the region set yet another all-time high of daily case counts at 101, surpassing the previous high 88, which was set Tuesday. Two more deaths were also reported as the active case count in the community rose to 439 with two new hospitalizations, one of which in the ICU. The number of deaths related to the virus since the start of the pandemic in this region is now at 14.
“At KFLA Public Health we’ve received confirmation that the whole genome sequencing has been completed on a sample from a person diagnosed with COVID-19 and the whole genome sequencing confirmed the presence of Omicron variant in this community,” said Oglaza. “There’s still not sufficient clarity as to determine what impact Omicron will have on this province, on this community and the science around Omicron about how severe the cases might be, how likely these Omicron infections are going to escape protection from vaccination, this is still under investigation. Until then out of the abundance of caution, we will be implementing new measures. These new measures are aligned with the provincial guidance with case contact managements specific to Omicron. That guidance introduces change in practice when we address the risk and high-risk cases. If Omicron is suspected, the vaccination status of a high-risk contact is no longer considered to be a mitigating factor. An individual who is a high risk contact of an Omicron case would be required to self isolate.”
Oglaza encouraged those who are eligible for a third booster shot of COVID-19 vaccine-which is expected to expand to include those 50 and older on Monday, to roll up their sleeve.
“I would encourage anyone who is eligible to take advantage of that option and expand their already excellent protection but enhance it especially in light of the new variant,” he said. “We knew before with Delta that the initial two doses provide excellent protection against hospitalization and death which are very important measures. There may have been some waning of immunity in terms of effectiveness for symptomatic infection but again, research and information with regards to Omicron changes that and creates that additional rationale for people to get immunized with the third dose.”
Among the unknowns with the new variant is just how transmissible it is.
“That’s something that still needs to be confirmed through more rigorous studies and we fully understand that’s something that will take a little bit more time,” Oglaza said when asked if the new variant is more contagious than previous ones. “We are operating under the assumption that it is more transmissible and that’s why it’s reflected in that case contact guidance. We have lower threshold for declaring someone to be a high-risk contact because of that suspected more ease in terms of transmission. We are also assuming greater potential for vaccine escape and that is reflected by different management of high risk contacts of Omicron versus Delta.”
Oglaza also noted new measures would soon be in place in an effort to limit the rising case counts in the community. Those include active screening of staff and customers at local businesses and strengthening the language around the wearing of masks while indoors. Specifics of the new measures are expected to be released by the end of the week.
“The number of cases is concerning for two reasons,” said Oglaza. “One is that it is an unprecedented spread in this community that we have not seen in previous waves. And we also see that the number of cases and spread trickles down to spread in vulnerable populations. We see even though this is not a provincial trend, we see a worrisome trend in this community where there is a high number of vulnerable individuals who are getting sick severely and getting admitted to hospital and getting admitted to ICU. This is something that adds to the already strained healthcare system and that spread and continued rise in cases is worrisome from that perspective. Having said that it is important to acknowledge that the vast number of cases that we see among those active cases right now or cases in general are occurring in individuals who are typically experiencing relatively mild illness. That’s one mitigating or reassuring factor but the sheer extent of the spread that we see in this community and the fact that it’s already making its way to very vulnerable populations and resulting in admissions and high ICU occupancy by COVID-19 patients is a significant concern.”