Second Omicron variant identified in Durham, Oshawa reports 13 of 36 new cases

Oshawa, the children at the still closed Corpus Christi elementary school and the Omicron variant are getting the COVID attention in Durham Region after three dozen new cases of the virus were reported yesterday.

A second positive case of the new Omicron variant has also been identified in the region.

Thirteen of those cases were from Oshawa and the number of students affected by an outbreak at Ecole Elementaire Catholique Corpus Christi is now up to 21. The active case count in Durham has now risen to 240 and there are four people in hospital and two in ICU.

The @DurhamHealth confirms that we have 2 cases of Omicron as of Dec 2. We are currently following up with other COVID-19 cases with a history of travel. To protect the privacy of all individuals, @DurhamHealth cannot disclose more info about any case of COVID-19. https://t.co/S3ozvEBgBW

— Durham Region Health Department (@DurhamHealth) December 3, 2021

Whitby (9) and Clarington (6) also reported high numbers of the virus on a day when all eight municipalities in Durham reported at least one new case.

The number of outbreaks at Durham schools is down to eight but the number of kids affected is still high at 33, including three at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic School in Oshawa.

More than a million doses of the vaccine have been administered in Durham since the beginning of the pandemic and the percentage of fully vaccinated residents 12 and over is now 84.6 per cent. Nearly 15 per cent of children aged 5-11 have now received their first dose.