Canada discovered the first two cases of infection from the new variant of the coronavirus discovered in the United Kingdom, Ontario health authorities announced on Saturday.
“The cases are a few from Durham who have no history of travel, exposure (to the virus) or high-risk contacts,” the county health department, the country’s most populous county, said in a statement.
The pair were placed in isolation, the note notes, on the same day Ontario recovered from a multi-week lockdown due to a surge in the Covid-19 epidemic since early December.
Canada has suspended all flights from the UK until January 6 following the appearance in that country of the new strain of the virus.
Several countries announced on Saturday that they had identified confirmed cases of the British variant, such as Italy, Sweden, Spain and Japan, following the infections previously reported by France, Germany, Lebanon or Denmark.
The discovery of these first cases in the Canadian province “reinforces the need for the people of Ontario to stay at home as much as possible and continue to respect public health guidelines, especially the containment measures in the province, which went into effect today,” recalled Dr. Barbara Yaffe, deputy chief of the local health authorities, herself.
The refinancing in Ontario, which has a population of 14 million and the capital of which is Toronto, will last 28 days in the south of the province and 14 days in the north.
The new rules mainly prohibit private indoor gatherings outside the family circle. Essential businesses, such as supermarkets or pharmacies, may remain open, but other establishments, such as restaurants, should be limited to shipping orders or home delivery.
Canada registered more than 534,000 cases and more than 14,700 deaths from the coronavirus on Saturday since the start of the pandemic.