First case of B.1.617 variant confirmed in Alberta

EDMONTON (660 NEWS) — The first case of the B.1.617 variant, which is currently wreaking havoc in India, has been reported in Alberta.

The variant was first identified in Denmark and has recently popped up in British Columbia and Quebec.

WATCH: Dr. Deena Hinshaw provides an update on COVID-19 in Alberta.

“This variant was in a returning inter-provincial traveller to Alberta, and no additional cases of this variant have been detected to date,” said Dr. Deena Hinshaw.

She says research is now underway to try and understand how this variant is different from others.

“What we don’t know yet about the B.1.617 variant is whether or not it is indeed truly more infectious than these other variants of concern that we currently have in the province,” she said.

“What’s important as we hear about new variants of interest or new variants of concern is that the precautions that we have been working towards, building habits towards, for more than a year now, if we do those things consistently every single day we can create that wall of protection that protects our families, ourselves and our communities.”

As with all new variants research is underway to understand what may be different in how B.1.617 spreads & if it creates more serious illness. We are calling this a variant of interest as we monitor the latest findings on this variant as evidence emerges around the world. (4/10)

— Alberta Chief Medical Officer of Health (@CMOH_Alberta) April 22, 2021

Because there is little information about this mutation, Hinshaw says it’s too soon to know if the vaccines are effective against it.

“There hasn’t yet been an assessment from the Canadian perspective when we look at the evidence, that this particular variant is shown to have a decreased response by the vaccine,” Hinshaw said.

India is the only place to report this particular variant and the province does not have that information yet, she added.

This all comes as the province reports its third-highest case count since the pandemic began, with 1,857 new cases of the virus, 1,326 of which are variants of concern.

Variant cases of COVID-19 now make up roughly 60 per cent of all active cases in the province.

The province’s positivity rate over the last day is hovering around 10.7 per cent.

There are now active alerts or outbreaks in 612 schools in the province, representing 25 per cent of schools in Alberta.

READ MORE: Online classes begin for some Alberta students amid rising COVID-19 cases

There are now 518 people in hospital being treated for COVID-19, with 116 people now in the ICU.

Hinshaw says hospitalizations are a lagging indicator and these people were likely infected 2-3 weeks ago. This means we can expect to see these numbers rise as more cases are identified.

Six new deaths were reported on Thursday.

On the vaccine front, 42,300 doses of vaccines were administered in Alberta.

Some changes are coming to how the province will be approaching second doses for select populations who may not respond effectively to the first dose.

“Effective (Friday) those in Alberta who are undergoing specific kinds of cancer treatments or who are on other medication that results in a level of profound immune compromise will be able to book a second dose 21 to 28 days after their first,” said Hinshaw. “This aligns with Ontario’s approach and is specifically limited to Albertans who have received solid organ or stem cell transplants, or who are currently undergoing specific immune compromising treatments, such as chemotherapy.”

Hinshaw also prefaced Friday’s update with a note about contact tracing and text messages being sent out to people who may have been a close contact of someone with COVID-19.

In an age where phone scams seem to happen almost every day, Hinshaw says if you receive a text message from a contact tracer asking if you consent to receive the message that you reply ‘YES’ and not push it away as a potential scam.

More and more people have been denying the texts due to fears of it being a possible scam text which then results in crucial information being missed. The follow-up text, should you answer ‘YES’, will provide you with the information needed to know if you could have come into contact with someone who has COVID-19.