The Omicron coronaviruses variant has been reported in Canada.
Two people who traveled to Nigeria, western Africa, and tested positive for COVID-19 in Ontario on Sunday, were from Nigeria.
It is not clear if they were in southern Africa when the new variant was first detected.
The first cases in North America have been reported.
Canada imposed travel restrictions on people who had visited seven southern African countries in the past two weeks. Nigeria wasn't on the list.
The Ontario Health Minister and the province's chief medical officer of health said that stopping the omicron variant at the border was the best defense against it.
"We continue to urge the federal government to take the necessary steps to mandate point-of-arrival testing for all travellers regardless of where they're coming from to further protect against the spread of this new variant."
White House chief medical advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci said on Saturday that the variant was most likely already in the country.
New York and New Jersey both declared a state of emergency in response to the Omicron variant.
The UK, Israel, Belgium, the Netherlands, Australia, and Germany have all reported Omicron cases.
All of those countries have introduced travel restrictions, as have some other countries who have yet to report cases of the new variant.
