Canada’s first known case of the Brazilian COVID-19 variant has been reported here in Ontario.
Toronto Public Health said yesterday that a resident who recently travelled from Brazil tested positive for the P.1 COVID-19 variant and is currently in hospital.
The local health unit also reported the city’s first case of the South African variant, known as B.1.351, who has no travel history or no known contact with anyone who travelled.
Health officials said a man in Mississauga also tested positive for the variant last week, when the province started screening all positive cases for possible variants.
Scientists and medical professionals are concerned that these variants are more transmissible than the original coronavirus. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevent (CDC) has indicated that research is ongoing to determine more about these variants to better understand how easily they might be transmitted and the effectiveness of currently authorized vaccines against them.
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First COVID-19 cases linked to Brazilian and South African variants of concern identified in Toronto. News release: https://t.co/cd5i8CSS6j pic.twitter.com/aI31s18Xrm
— City of Toronto 🇨🇦 (@cityoftoronto) February 7, 2021