The first two cases of the highly infectious coronavirus variant that emerged in the UK have been confirmed in Canada according to the Ontario health officials on Saturday.
“The cases are a couple from Durham with no known travel history, exposure or high-risk contacts,” stated Dr. Barbara Yaffe, chief medical officer for Ontario province.
“This further reinforces the need for Ontarians to stay home as much as possible and continue to follow all public health advice, including the provincewide shutdown measures beginning today,” she added.
Furthermore, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that the country would prolong suspension of flights arriving in Canada from the UK until January 6th in light of the new coronavirus variant.
The provincewide lockdown, which has been implemented after a spike in COVID-19 cases, will last 28 days in the south of the region and 14 days in the north.
The government has placed a ban on indoor gatherings outside immediate family circle and have allowed only essential businesses to stay open. However, restaurants will be allowed to remain open with only take-out and delivery service.
Moreover, four cases of the new coronavirus variant from the UK have been reported in Madrid, adding Spain to the list of countries who have reported the more contagious COVID-19 strain.
It is pertinent to mention that all four people confirmed with the new coronavirus variant recently arrived to Spain from the UK.
Furthermore, the Swedish health authorities have detected new strain or coronavirus after a traveler from the UK fell ill on arrival and tested positive on Saturday.
Read more: Celebrities who died of coronavirus in 2020.
