Most of Kingston's 131 new cases suspected to be omicron variant, public health says

Most of the new cases confirmed in the Kingston, Ont., area are suspected to be the omicron variant, according to the local public health unit, which sent 105 of the 131 cases confirmed on Friday for variant testing.

A spokesperson for Kingston, Frontenac and Lennox & Addington Public Health said in an email the exact number of variant cases will only be determined after genome sequencing of the COVID-19 samples is complete.

Dr. Piotr Oglaza, medical officer of health for the region, said earlier this week the first reported case of thevariantsuggestedomicron was already spreading in the province whenCanada's first cases were announced.

On Tuesday, the health unit said they had confirmed the presence of omicron in someone who had no apparent history of international travel.

One day later, the region's top doctor shared new details on CBC Radio's All In A Day sayingthe person first showed symptoms on Nov. 28, the same day Canada's first two omicron cases were confirmed in Ottawain a pair of people who had recently travelled from Nigeria.

"It was just two days after the World Health Organization declared omicron a variant of concern and drew the attention of the entire world," Oglaza toldAll In A Day.

"These cases were already popping up in different jurisdictions throughout the world. So [it's a] very concerning fact that we had the first case withoutthat history of travel which indicates that there is spread occurring in this jurisdiction, in this province."

New restrictions introduced

Canadian scientists have been working overtime to learn more about omicron, with dozens of suspected and confirmed outbreaks being reported around the country.

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In the Kingston area, COVID-19 cases in general have hit new highs in recent days, with the health unit setting newrecords for active cases, per capitacases, hospitalizations, ICU patients and outbreaks Thursday.

Its four highest daily case counts ever have come this week and itnearly has as many cases reported in the last six weeks than in the rest of 2021.

The health unit has already dropped the limit on private indoor gatherings to 10 people, and on Wednesday Oglaza issued a letter of instruction to local businesses and organizationsto be even more vigilant against the virus.

The letter tells them to implement strict mask usage, while also providing an expanded list of symptoms they should use to screen staff and patrons for COVID-19.

Failing to follow the tougher rules could result in a fine as high as $100,000.

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Oglaza said the spread ofCOVID-19 locally has been driven in part bypeople with symptoms attending social gatherings something he hoped the new rules would slow down.

"It's an important step that will enable us to minimize the risk of symptomatic people being in attendance," Oglaza said.

"It's challenging. Ifully appreciate the challenges the businesses might be facing. But what's at stake here is [their] ability to continue to operate."