Couple facing charges over 1st cases of new COVID-19 variant
Posted January 12, 2021 8:26 am.
Last Updated January 12, 2021 8:30 am.
The first known cases in Canada of the COVID-19 variant are now reportedly facing public health charges.
A day after the province first identified the couple from Durham Region as the first two people to test positive for the new COVID-19 variant, it announced the man and woman withheld information and that the two had been in contact with a recent traveller from the U.K.
Now Durham Region Public Health is telling the CBC that the couple are facing charges, but wouldn’t specify what the charges are.
It turns out that the reason the variant was detected in the couple in the first place was complete chance.
Right now, if someone tests positive for the common coronavirus, their sample is only assessed for the variant under certain circumstances, including if the person recently travelled or had been in contact with someone who did.
Health officials tell the CBC that the couples swabs just happened to be processed at a lab using tests that can screen for the variant.
