'Swallowing razor blades': What to know about the painful symptom linked to latest COVID strain
Article content
'That said, early signs suggest it doesn't seem to cause more serious illness, but of course, we're still learning more about it,' said Tang.
The earliest sample of Nimbus was taken in January, said WHO.
How are Canadians being affected by the Nimbus strain?
In Canada, the federal government has been keeping track of COVID variants detected nationwide.
Nimbus was detected in Canada in March, but it only accounted for a very low percentage of COVID strains in the country, at just 0.2 per cent . By the end of May, Nimbus made up roughly 20 per cent of all identified COVID cases. Using earlier trends to estimate the current situation, the government is predicting how variants will spread or diminish. This method is called nowcasting.
For the week of June 1, the nowcasted estimates of Nimbus in Canada are predicted to be around 42 per cent. The nowcasted estimates for the week of June 15 jump to 53 per cent, meaning it would make up more than half of the cases in Canada if the prediction is accurate.
Other than Canada, Nimbus has been detected around the world, with cases reported in India, Thailand, Hong Kong, Singapore and the United States, according to the World Health Network. It has also made its way to Australia and the United Kingdom.
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