TORONTO—Ontario is investigating four more possible cases of the Omicron COVID-19 variant of concern, and the province’s top doctor said it’s likely more will be detected after an initial two cases were confirmed over the weekend. Dr. Kieran Moore said two of the potential cases are in the Hamilton, Ont., area and two are in…

After the World Health Organization (WHO) warned of a new COVID-19 variant named Omicron detected in South Africa, the cryptocurrency market went into panic selling on Friday. With Bitcoin (BTC) falling below $63,000 and markets closing in the red, many crypto traders have had their positions liquidated. Bitcoin’s decline pulled down the entire market along…

A new variant of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus has been detected in South Africa, its health minister, Joe Phaahla, announced Thursday. Scientists say the new variant is a concern because it has a high number of mutations and spreads rapidly among young people in Gauteng, the country’s most populous province, he said at…

An old COVID-19 variant called A.30—which is exceedingly rare—“efficiently evades” antibodies induced by the Pfizer-BioNTech and AstraZeneca vaccines, according to a team of scientists in Germany. Only five cases of the A.30 variant have been reported so far worldwide, according to the COVID-19 variant tracking network GISAID. Three of these were in Angola, and one…

South African scientists have been keeping a close eye on a new COVID-19 variant because of “its concerning constellations of mutations.” The variant, called C.1.2, was first identified in May in South Africa. The scientists have posted a preprint study, saying the new CCP (Chinese Communist Party) Virus variant shares mutations with other more transmissible…

The Beta variant of coronavirus spreading in France poses a “threat” to the UK with evidence suggesting it may evade the effect of vaccines, a scientist involved in advising the government has warned. Professor John Edmunds, of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and a member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies…

BRUSSELS—The European Union’s executive on Wednesday called on countries of the bloc to temporarily halt non-essential travel from India, to limit the spread of a COVID-19 variant. The European Commission said its proposal followed the World Health Organisation’s proposal on Monday to reclassify the B.1.617.2 variant of COVID-19 found in India as a “variant of…

OTTAWA—Prime Minister Trudeau says he’s been assured that COVID-19 vaccination deliveries will accelerate in coming weeks, and that includes four million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine by the end of March. He says the pharmaceutical giant has confirmed it will deliver the doses they promised last November, and that Canada has also ordered four million…

MONTREAL—Quebec urged the federal government Tuesday to increase surveillance of returning travellers as the province confirmed its first case of a more contagious COVID-19 variant that was first identified in the United Kingdom. Health Minister Christian Dube said his government wants Ottawa to require that returning international travellers obtain a negative COVID-19 test result before…

Quebec has become the fourth province to confirm its first case of a more contagious COVID-19 variant. Health Minister Christian Dube says the person who tested positive is a family member of someone who returned from the United Kingdom on Dec. 11. Three other provinces have confirmed cases of the new variant in recent days,…