Toronto Public Health confirms first three cases of Omicron variant in city
Toronto Public Health confirms first three cases of Omicron variant in city
Toronto Public Health has confirmed three new cases of the Omicron variant influenza (OIV) that were detected by its hospital-based surveillance system — the first cases to have been detected in the City of Toronto.
In all cases, the person had contact with the influenza virus while travelling to the United Kingdom.
The three cases are members of the following households:
M.E.1, M.E.2, and M.E.3 are all related to a young woman from Toronto’s west end, who is in her early thirties and has two children. All three women had contact with each other in Toronto on January 31 and February 4, and were in close proximity to each other for at least 24 hours. While on February 4, M.E.2 visited a health care facility on Sheppard St. E. where she was treated for fever and cough for several days. M.E.1 and M.E.3 also both visited the same health care facility on February 4, where M.E.1 received her symptoms of fever and cough. All three women left Toronto on February 8 and returned to Ontario.
The Health Network said that M.E.1 was the first to be detected and was diagnosed by public health staff, assisted by local public health staff and the Public Health Ontario Influenza Surveillance Program. M.E.2 was diagnosed at a hospital and M.E.3 was diagnosed at a hospital and was also linked to the Public Health Ontario Influenza Surveillance Program.
“The influenza virus cannot be spread between people of the same age and so anyone who has ever had influenza or similar symptoms should not be travelling to the United Kingdom, or indeed anywhere else in the world,” said Dr. Caroline M. Ryan, acting medical officer of health for Toronto Public Health. “While a person can develop mild symptoms, symptoms like fever, cough and tired