'Small number' of Omicron subvariant cases detected in B.C., officials say

Health officials have confirmed a "very small number" of COVID-19 cases involving a new Omicron subvariant have been found in British Columbia.

Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said the BA.2 sub-lineage was first detected locally about two weeks ago, and the government is monitoring the situation closely as countries around the world gather data on the Omicron descendant.

So far, based on findings out of the U.K., Henry said it appears BA.2 probably has "increased transmissibility," but whether there are any additional differences remains unclear.

"There's still a whole lot we don't know," she said at a news conference Tuesday. "There hasn't been enough of it, certainly not here and not in Canada, to really see any impact."

There have been 51 cases of the BA.2 subvariant confirmed across the country so far, the Public Health Agency of Canada said Wednesday.

In an emailed statement to CTV News, PHAC said it is monitoring BA.2 as it does all new COVID-19 variants, and encouraged the public to continue following the advice of health officials.

"The government of Canada knows that vaccination, in combination with public health and individual measures, is key to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and its variants," PHAC added.

BA.2 has been referred to as "stealthier" than past variants, a reference to changes that might make it more difficult to detect. So far, the World Health Organization has not declared BA.2 a variant of concern.

Encouragingly, Henry suggested the cases identified in British Columbia have not demonstrated a clear competitive advantage over previous iterations of Omicron.

"My lab team has been following it really carefully and we're not seeing it taking over from Omicron, as we saw Omicron take over from Delta, for example," she said.

The provincial health officer noted that regional differences in variants tend to emerge when there is widespread transmission, pointing to the AY.25 and AY.27 versions of Delta that B.C. started tracking last summer.

When it comes to BA.2, time will tell what "the overall impact is going to be, if any," Henry said.

With files from CTVNews.ca's Brooklyn Neustaeter