The latest news on the new COVID-19 Omicron variant is making it increasingly clear that travel bans will struggle to stop its spread. The Netherlands found Omicron in samples dating five days before the World Health Organization says South Africa first reported the variant to the U-N health agency. It’s unclear exactly where or when the variant first emerged, and the announcement from the Dutch further muddies the timeline. World markets continue to seesaw on every piece of medical news, with stock markets in Bay and Wall Streets deeply negative today.
Federal Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino says the government is tracking the new COVID-19 Omicron variant very closely. He says the government is reviewing public health advice as it comes in and will follow it very closely. N-D-P leader Jagmeet Singh says he doesn’t support the government’s move to impose travel bans on several countries in southern Africa, and he thinks testing and quarantining people arriving in the country is more effective