New Omicron sub-variant is in Manitoba, province says
New Omicron sub-variant is in Manitoba, province says
New Omicron sub-variant is in Manitoba, province says
New sub-variants of COVID-19 are in Manitoba, with scientists watching trends warning the mutated version of the Omicron variant called BA.5 is highly transmissible.
Sandy Wilson thought she was immune to COVID-19 and was surprised to find out she had been infected.
"I had been exposed to it a number of times and I was really surprised to get it," she said, adding she has also been hearing of a lot of other people who have it right now too.
While it is hard to tell how many cases there have been, provincial surveillance estimates one in 10 cases are BA.5.
"BA.5 is evident in Manitoba and comprises about 10 per cent of isolates sequenced. The province is targeting to sample at least 10 per cent or at least ~100 samples per week," a provincial spokesperson told CTV News.
According to the most recent Manitoba weekly COVID-19 report, the virus activity is decreasing. The federal wastewater data is similar.
However, other countries including the U.S. are dealing with the new versions of the Omicron variant which is taking over as the dominant strain.
"I know it sounds like we say this every time, but this is the nature of viruses," said Epidemiologist Cynthia Carr, founder of EPI Research. "They evolve and get better at what they want to do. These are highly transmissible viruses."
Carr said BA.5 seems to be spreading more efficiently. Like the Delta variant, this new variant is latching and holding on to cells and antibodies may not recognize it as easily.
She said cases in Canada are starting to creep up, the opposite from previous summers when the province saw a creep down
"It's not a pattern we are happy to see and so we could have some experiences like there are in other countries," Carr said, adding it's not clear how big an increase in cases there could be.
An Amber Alert issued on Monday for two Saskatchewan children has been extended into South Dakota. Saskatchewan RCMP say evidence uncovered during their investigation suggests the children may be in the U.S. state.
The man who claims to be one of the people seen 'surfing' on the roof of a moving subway train in Toronto is speaking exclusively to CTV News about his stunts and the looming threat of a police arrest.
Whether an FBI search of Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence is a prelude to criminal charges is unknown. The action Monday nonetheless focuses attention on the thicket of statutes that govern the handling of government records, though the department's own history of prosecutorial discretion makes it hard to forecast with certainty what might happen this time.
An Ontario nurse is facing charges in connection with the alleged assault of a two-year-old boy with “significant medical limitations” in Niagara Region.
Exposure to synthetic ‘forever chemicals’ often polluting the environment has been linked to the most common type of liver cancer, according to a recent study.
A new study found that people with regular menstruation cycles and those who typically do not menstruate either experienced a heavier flow or breakthrough bleeding after being vaccinated against COVID-19.
China on Wednesday reaffirmed its threat to use military force to bring self-governing Taiwan under its control, amid threatening Chinese military exercises that have raised tensions between the sides to their highest level in years.
Serena Williams indicated on Tuesday she is preparing to walk away from her professional tennis career as the start of the U.S. Open approaches on Aug. 29 and her 41st birthday approaches next month. She would leave behind a legacy that extends beyond her dominance on the court.
An Amber Alert issued on Monday for two Saskatchewan children has been extended into South Dakota. Saskatchewan RCMP say evidence uncovered during their investigation suggests the children may be in the U.S. state.
The body of a 71-year-old Regina man who went missing while swimming at Pelican Pointe on Last Mountain Lake, Sask. has been recovered, according to RCMP.
Northern Initiative for Social Action (NISA) is a non-profit organization run by and for people who have experienced mental health challenges and illness.
The Hollinger Golf Club in Timmins is celebrating its 100th anniversary. It was on Aug. 9, 1922, when the club took over the nine-hole course from the Hollinger Mine, who built it in 1919 as a way to attract people to the city.
If Edmonton does go ahead with a new gondola over the North Saskatchewan River, a local businessman has a grand idea for what to surround it with on the southern edge of the valley.
A prominent American ballerina and her husband have withdrawn a claim that Edmonton Oilers owner Daryl Katz paid for sex with an underage dancer several years ago, saying they have since learned she was 18 at the time.
The Progressive Conservative government has said that recipients of the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) will start receiving their five per cent increases in September.
An Ontario woman says she was scammed out of $11,000 after months spent working with a Texas psychic she met on TikTok following the death of her stepfather.
An Ontario nurse is facing charges in connection with the alleged assault of a two-year-old boy with “significant medical limitations” in Niagara Region.
It's been to Niagara Falls, the Kentucky Derby, tossed off a balcony and guest starred on Howard Stern. It's even been to Innisfail. But Tuesday around 6 p.m., the Cup had a truly Calgarian experience when it floated down the Bow River.
Animal rescue groups that find Calgary foster placements and forever homes for dogs from international countries say a new federal ban importing dogs from a list of countries as a control measure against rabies unfairly hurts groups trying to help dogs.
The amount of money Quebec has spent on private health-care workers has quadrupled in the last five years as it continues to deal with a worker shortage made worse by the pandemic.
Queen Mary Road in Montreal's Notre-Dame-de-Grace neighbourhood is about to get four kilometres of reserved bus and taxi lanes which the city says will save commuters six minutes and 40 seconds of precious travel time.
Three incumbent Ottawa city councillors are just over a week away from another term at city hall, even though the election isn't for another two and a half months.
In a message to Ontarians about their plans for the province, the Ford government hinted at a 'bold' new strategy for health care, but some health-care workers in the region are still concerned for the future.
The reopening of a Newfoundland highway that had been closed for days because of raging wildfires provided hope Tuesday that much-needed supplies would finally arrive in stranded communities along the island's south coast.
St. Mary’s General Hospital in Kitchener has added a touchscreen self-check-in kiosk into its emergency department. in hopes of streamlining patients through the triage system.
Patients and doctors alike are feeling the effects of a turbulent healthcare system, where clinic closures have B.C.'s physicians weighing their options as their orphaned patients plead to be seen by a shrinking number of general practitioners.
Several police officers were allegedly assaulted Tuesday in the Downtown Eastside, amid heightened tensions in the neighbourhood as crews were dismantling a tent city.
Five unions representing more than 5,000 UVic staff have reignited a petition asking the university to reconsider a planned change from annual to monthly parking passes.
An elementary school teacher in the Greater Victoria School District had his teaching certificate permanently banned after being convicted of possessing child pornography.
