The Omicron variant has arrived in Saskatchewan.

The province confirmed the first cases of the Omicron variant on Wednesday, saying the positive cases and close contacts are isolating and quarantining at this time.

The Ministry of Health is anticipating additional cases and advises the public to continue to abide by the current COVID-19 protocols.

Health Minister Paul Merriman says the recommendations that he has heard from Chief Medical Health Officer Dr. Saqib Shahab is the same guidelines that are currently in place. “What he is hearing from his colleagues around the world is the status quo, the best thing is to get vaccinated, make sure you are doing your social distancing and adhering to public health guidelines, wearing a mask when you need to, that is what Dr. Shahab is saying.”

At this point, Merriman is not willing to speculate on the possible impact that the Omicron variant might have. “There’s lots of misinformation floating around from the experts, they are not saying right now because it’s very new, credit the South African medical community who got on this right away so we could get the testing done.”

Dr. Shahab is expected to provide a further update on the Omicron variant on Thursday.