The Washington Post reports that Canada has become the first North American countries to detect the presence of Omicron, the newly identified Covid-19 variant. According to the Post, two confirmed Omicron cases were reported from Ontario, Canada.

As a result, the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, the European Union and others countries have quickly taken action to restrict travel from at southern Africa and its neighboring countries.

Quoting the World Health Organization (WHO), Annabelle Timsit write in the Post that the World agency has warned member countries that the omicron variant poses “very high” global risk.

“The likelihood of potential further spread of Omicron at the global level is high. … Depending on these characteristics, there could be future surges of COVID-19, which could have severe consequences, depending on a number of factors including where surges may take place. The overall global risk related to [omicron] is assessed as very high. Evidence for this assessment contains considerable uncertainty”

– The World Health Organization in a stetement (source: The Washington Post)

Dr. Anthony Fauci, The White House chief medical adviser and director of the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, reportedly told that the ‘newly discovered Covid-19 variant B.1.1.529 is ‘red flag‘ but US needs to learn more’.

Dr. Fauci added that these mutations “are raising some concern, particularly with regard to possibly transmissibility increase, and possibly evasion of immune response”.

• US health officials urge more vaccinations as they work to answer 3 key questions about the new Omicron variant
• Overall global risk related to Omicron variant is assessed as “very high,” WHO says
• Omicron variant now in North America as first cases found in Canada

US health experts are urgin “Americans not to be complacent and to use every tool at their disposal to prepare for the Omicron variant of Covid-19″.

CNN Health writes “Experts are now racing to determine whether Omicron’s mutations make it more transmissible, more severe and potentially more resistant to vaccines, but it could be weeks before we have answers”.

Dr. Francis Collins, Director of the National Institutes of Health, told CNN that Omicron reinforced the need for vaccination.

“We have to use every kind of tool in our toolbox to keep (Omicron) from getting in a situation that makes this worse. It also means we need to pay attention to those mitigation strategies that people are just really sick of, like wearing masks while indoors with other people who might not be vaccinated and keeping that social distance issue. I know, America — you’re really tired of hearing those things. But the virus is not tired of us. And it’s shapeshifting itself,” Dr. Collins said.

The CNN writes quoting a White House readout “Dr. Fauci informed the President that while it will take approximately two more weeks to have more definitive information on the transmissibility, severity, and other characteristics of the variant, he continues to believe that existing vaccines are likely to provide a degree of protection against severe cases of Covid”.