CP NewsAlert: Alberta confirms its first case of Omicron COVID-19 variant

EDMONTON — Alberta is reporting its first case of the Omicron COVID-19 variant.

The province’s chief medical health officer, Dr. Deena Hinshaw, says the case was confirmed in a traveller returning from Nigeria and the Netherlands.

The variant of concern was first identified in South Africa after a spike in infections, but it is unclear where Omicron first emerged. 

Preliminary evidence suggests the new variant transmits more easily.