Covid-19 cases in Canada have started to increase and severity trends could also rise, Ottawa warned, saying the rapid spread of the Omicron variant abroad should be a “serious alarm bell” for those wanting to travel.

“As we head into the winter months with a strained health system in many areas [...] a high degree of caution is needed to minimise spread and impact, particularly during the upcoming holiday season,” said chief medical officer Theresa Tam.

Canada has so far recorded 87 Covid-19 cases caused by the Omicron variant, all of them asymptomatic or mild. Most of the initial cases detected were linked to recent international travelers or their close contacts, Reuters reports.