A notification sent out this week regarding the identification of COVID-19 in waste water in the Deer Lake area, that has resulted in the identification of positive cases.

Two new confirmed cases of the virus were reported today, both of which are in the Western Health region.

Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Janice Fitzgerald says anyone who lives in the Deer Lake region or stopped there while traveling through, is asked to get tested if they develop COVID symptoms.

She says wastewater is a signal of cases circulating in the area.

Meanwhile, Dr. Fitzgerald says it’s still too early to predict how the new Omicron variant will behave in the general populace.

The variant’s spike protein contains 30 mutations, which could help it evade the body’s immune system.

Janice Fitzgerald says the variant has been identified in four Canadian provinces to date.

She says while there’s no evidence to indicate the variant has been detected in this province, but based on previous experience, cases are expected to be seen in the province eventually.