Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Liberal MPs speak with reporters on Parliament Hill as the federal party holds its weekly caucus meeting. They face questions on travel measures to prevent the spread of the Omicron COVID-19 variant, calls for a boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing, and a report from the parliamentary budget officer on clean drinking water for First Nations communities. (December 1, 2021)

In a consensus decision aimed at protecting the world from future infectious diseases crises, the World Health Assembly today agreed to kickstart a global process to draft and negotiate a convention, agreement or other international instrument under the Constitution of the World Health Organization to strengthen pandemic prevention, preparedness and response.

Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, said the decision by the World Health Assembly was historic in nature, vital in its mission, and represented a once-in-a-generation opportunity to strengthen the global health architecture to protect and promote the well-being of all people.

While experts work to better understand the new WHO-designated “variant of concern,” Omicron, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Director Carissa F. Etienne, called for increased vaccination and public health measures to ensure the best possible protection against the virus.

Urging against panic, the PAHO Director highlighted that there are still many unknowns and studies will take some time to complete. Until then, “it is not clear whether Omicron is more transmissible than other variants, or if it causes more severe disease,” she said in a media briefing today.