Canada's first cases of the omicron coronavirus variant confirmed in Ottawa

There are two confirmed cases of the omicron variant of the coronavirus in Ottawa, the Ontario government announced Sunday.

“Today, the province of Ontario has confirmed two cases of the omicron variant of COVID-19 in Ottawa, both of which were reported in individuals with recent travel from Nigeria. Ottawa Public Health is conducting case and contact management and the patients are in isolation,” the statement said.

The news comes after Canada implemented a ban on foreign nationals travelling to Canada who had been to certain countries in southern Africa over the preceding two weeks. That ban went into effect on Friday.