Health officials are reporting three more cases of the UK variant of COVID-19 in the province.
Ontario’s Associate Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Barbara Yaffe said at her daily briefing yesterday that all three people with the new variant are residents of the GTA and are linked to travel.
The UK variant of the virus is more contagious and has spread rapidly through southern England, while it has also been detected in a number of other countries recently, including here in Canada.
However, the new variant is not believed to cause more severe illness or resistance to vaccines.
Ontario has had three other known cases of the UK variant — two in Durham Region and one in Ottawa, but Yaffe added that Ontario has no confirmed cases of the South Africa variant, at least so far.
UK British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a new national lockdown yesterday that will last until at least mid-February.