The Northwestern Health Unit says the COVID-19 variant B.1.1.7 (commonly known as the U.K. variant) has been detected in the Dryden area.
The detection of the variant only came Thursday from a positive test result already on the NWHU books.
Medical Officer of Health Doctor Kit Young Hoon says this isn’t cause for panic but rather a wake-up call.
“The presence of a variant of concern in our area emphasizes the importance of prevention measures. Stay 2 metres from anyone you do not live with, wear a mask, practise good hand hygiene, and limit the number of people you socialize with,” says Young Hoon, “The threat of COVID-19 in our area is very real.”
She explains that B.1.1.7 spreads much faster than a non-variant version of COVID-19.
“When a virus spreads within a day or two, instead of a week or two, many people can become infected and further spread the virus quickly. This means it is more likely that someone will be severely ill simply because so many more people are impacted. Also, there is some evidence that this variant can increase the risk of death.”
The Health Unit says that at this time the variant is not connected to the recent outbreak in the Kenora region.
Doctor Young Hoon tells us that there is evidence that the variant was contracted through travel and that despite being more contagious, there doesn’t seem to be any spread at this time.
