Canadians becoming more worried about COVID-19 amid news of the omicron variant

Canadians are becoming increasingly worried about COVID-19 amid the news of the omicron variant making its way into the country, according to a new poll from Abacus Data.

Ontario has confirmed four cases of the new variant that was first detected in countries in southern Africa and are reviewing two others. Quebec has also confirmed their first case.

The survey said over four in 10 Canadian adults are becoming more worried about the pandemic compared to just two in 10 who were surveyed a month prior.

The majority of those who are becoming worried are middle-aged and older Canadians along with those who are vaccinated or vaccine-hesitant. Those who refuse to get the vaccine have been unmoved by the news of the omicron variant, going from 20 per cent who are worried to 19 per cent.

The rates of worried Canadians were highest in Quebec with 51 per cent of those surveyed, followed by B.C. and Ontario. Albertans were the least worried at 36 per cent.

The survey was conducted between Nov. 25 and 30, 2021 with 2,025 adult Canadians participating. The margin of error for a comparable probability-based random sample of the same size is +/- 2.2%, 19 times out of 20.

Bruce Anderson with Abacus Data says this survey shows how attentive people have been to the news of the pandemic, but most are still waiting on more information.

“If it does turn out that this new variant will require harsh measures, it’s a fair bet that this will intensify divisions between those willing to be vaccinated and those who refuse to take that step,” Anderson said in a release.

Ontario’s Medical Officer of Health said Monday it was too soon to tell whether restrictions would need to be put in place to contain the omicron variant as there will still a lot of unknowns regarding it including how effective the vaccines are against the variant and if it makes people sicker.

The federal government on Friday barred visitors from seven southern African countries in an effort to prevent the variant from crossing into Canada.

Ontario has called on the federal government to implement point-of-arrival testing for anyone entering Canada regardless of where they came from.

It also comes as testing requirements for short trips under 72 hours over the U.S. land border have been eliminated, starting Tuesday.

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