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U.S. Traveller to Niagara Tests Positive for Omicron Variant

This comes as cases of COVID surge in Erie County

Niagara Public Health says a U.S. resident who travelled to Niagara tested positive for the Omicron variant.

The region's Acting Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Mustafa Hirji tells the Standard, fortunately the traveller, who had no idea they had the variant, was flagged for a random COVID-19 test at the border.

Hirji says the visitor stayed in the region for a few days before returning home.

The top doctor says Public Health is prepared should any cases of the variant appear in the region pop up as a result.

Hirji has been critical of the federal governments decision to lift COVID restrictions at the border, citing lack of testing in Western New York as one of the reasons.

According to recent data from Johns Hopkins University, Erie County ranks 9th in the U.S for cases of COVID -19. 

The University says, Erie County has had over 17,000 COVID-19 cases and more than a hundred deaths over the past month. 
 

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