Outaouais reports first 2 cases of omicron variant

Public health officials confirmed the first two cases of the omicron variantin the Outaouais, while Ottawa announced a fifth case of the variant on Thursday.

Dr. Brigitte Pinard,acting director of the Centre intgr de sant et de services sociaux de l'Outaouais (CISSSO), made the announcement about at a newsconference Thursday afternoon.

Both people who tested positive for the variant recently travelled and quarantined upon their return to Canada, according to Pinard.

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She also said there has been no further transmission at this point, which means all the appropriate measures have been taken to prevent community transmission.

Canada's first cases of omicron were reported in Ottawa on Nov. 28, and they involvedtwo people who had recently travelled from Nigeria.The city now has five confirmed cases of omicron.

Most active cases since May

In addition to the two confirmed cases of omicron, the Outaouais saw a jump in case numbers with 41 more cases reported on Thursday by the Institut national de sant publique du Qubec (INSPQ).

This is the region's highest daily case count in more than two months.

Pinard says it fits with the upward trend in cases seen throughout the region in the last week. She asked the region's residents to remain vigilant in practising COVID-19 precautionary measures.

The region currently reports 192 active cases, the highest since May 23 nearly seven months ago.

CISSSO says two people are hospitalized due to COVID-19, with one of them in intensive care.