Health Minister says Ontario ‘keeping a close eye’ on global surge of stealth Omicron

Ontario’s health minister says BA.2, the COVID-19 subvariant described as “stealth Omicron,” will soon make up half of all infections reported in the province.

“We have been following the BA.2 variant very closely,” said Christine Elliott. “It may be 50 per cent of the cases we have in Ontario in the next short period of time.”

Elliott adds that at this point, it does not appear to be generating any additional strain on the health system — though that could change.

“It’s not causing more hospitalizations or more intensive treatments. Doctor [Kieran] Moore feels that we will be able to handle this variant without any further disruptions to services in Ontario.”

In late February, the World Health Organization (WHO) said the BA.2 sublineage “should continue to be considered a variant of concern and that it should remain classified as Omicron.”

“BA.2 differs from BA.1 in its genetic sequence, including some amino acid differences in the spike protein and other proteins. Studies have shown that BA.2 has a growth advantage over BA.1,” the WHO wrote.

“… Initial data suggest that BA.2 appears inherently more transmissible than BA.1, which currently remains the most common Omicron sublineage reported.”

China’s government has ordered Jilin province, home to 24-million people, into lockdown because of surging COVID-19 cases. Nearly half of European countries have recorded increases in new infections in the last week — On Tuesday morning, Scotland reversed its decision to drop its mask mandate.

Asked by CityNews what he thought about these reports, Premier Doug Ford said his government would continue to tread cautiously.

“Well, we’re always very cautious,” Ford said. “We’ve built up our health care system to be able to handle an increase, and we’ve learned a tremendous amount over the last few years.”

Epidemiologist Colin Furness told CityNews it’s hard to know because Ontario does not have a clear picture about how many people have already tested positive with Omicron.

“If a lot of people have had Omicron, BA.2 is going to make matters worse, but not seriously so,” Furness said. “If they haven’t, we could see a significant uptick. Denmark sees that. China sees that — that’s entirely possible that’s our future, but it’s hard to know because we are so blind.”

Furness, however, warns that the Ford government’s decision to ease masking rules on March 21 could make matters worse when it comes to BA.2 — proven to be a virulent subvariant.

“Being more contagious means people that have managed to stay safe so far are going to have a harder time staying safe,” Furness admits.

“If you combine BA.2 with taking your masks off, you’re going to get a significant rise in cases.”

While the province is still planning to drop mask mandates in most settings on March 21, Premier Ford revealed on Tuesday that he would keep his handy for a while.

“For the first few days, I’ll be keeping my mask on,” Ford said.

Government House Leader Paul Calandra rescinds the mask requirement for the legislative chamber and in committees on March 21. The Speaker says the conditions will lift that day for the legislative precinct.

With the mandates being lifted, Ford says that if people want to keep wearing a mask, then “God bless you,” but if they don’t, that’s fine too.

But Ford says he always errs on the side of caution, so he will be keeping a mask on in the legislature “for the first few days” after the house resumes Monday following a one-week break.

Several school boards have asked to keep their mask mandates in place for a few weeks after schools return following March break, but Ford has said no.

Many post-secondary institutions have said they will keep mask mandates until the end of the term, and when asked Tuesday why they can do that. Still, public schools can’t, Colleges and Universities Minister Jill Dunlop said post-secondary institutions are autonomous legal entities.

With files from The Canadian Press