Different COVID-19 variants have spread throughout the pandemic. Some social media posts claim a COVID-19 variant out of Canada has prompted the United States Transportation Security Administration to bring in a new policy that will require American airport staff and travellers to wear masks again. This is false. The TSA says it has no new requirements and, as of Sept. 12, there were no variants of concern detected in Canada.
Some , formerly known as Twitter, and , are claiming the TSA in the United States is instructing employees that mask mandates will return for airport employees in September and travellers in October due to a new "dangerous variant" out of Canada. Many social media users sharing similar claims to a video clip from "The Alex Jones Show" from Aug. 18 where the American host claims he received the information from a whistleblower. At the time of publication, one had more than 10.6 million views and 20,600 retweets.
Rating: False
"These rumours are completely false. TSA does not have any new requirements and there has not been any meeting on the topic," said TSA spokesperson R. Carter Langston in an email.
TSA is not imposing mask-related requirements at this time, Langston added.
While the TSA has authority to impose mask requirements, the order would come from the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the lead federal agency for public health decisions, including masking rules on transportation systems.
Spokesperson Nick Spinelli said the Centers for Disease Control recommends that all people — passengers and transportation workers, alike — are up to date on their COVID-19 vaccines before they travel. Anyone may choose to wear a mask, he added, but there is no order requiring them.
Spinelli said the centre's advice and orders are tied to hospital admission levels, which are currently low for more than 97 per cent of the United States.
No dangerous Canadian variant
Angela Rasmussen, a virologist at the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization at the University of Saskatchewan, said there are no COVID-19 variants that stand out in Canada as presenting greater risk than others.
"There is no specific variant in Canada causing excess danger," she said in an email.
The changes can affect how contagious a virus is.
Health Canada's said at the start of September that none of the strains circulating in the country are considered variants of concern. The Centers for Disease Control also said there were no new variants of concern in the United States.
Alex Jones spoke in the video about a strain called "A.B.16," which is not a variant. The Jones video includes a screenshot of an about BA.6, .
Experts around the world are watching a variant called Pirola, , that emerged over the summer. It is notable because it has multiple genetic differences from previous versions of the virus, but early studies show people likely will have immunity to help avoid severe sickness.
"Early research data from multiple labs are reassuring and show that existing antibodies work against the new BA.2.86 variant," the Centers for Disease Control .
Canada detected its of the BA.2.86 strain on Aug. 29, 11 days after "The Alex Jones Show" segment aired. variants were the dominant strains in Canada at the end of August.
Two cases of the BA.2.86 strain had been detected in the United States as of , before its first known appearance in Canada.
Increase in Canadian cases but risk remains low
Health Canada said in an email that Ottawa has a monitoring program with provinces and territories to identify variants. Federal government scientists also use wastewater to detect emerging strains of COVID-19.
"Currently, COVID-19 activity levels are low to moderate in all reporting provinces and territories," the department said.
Health Canada's COVID-19 epidemiology summary from said there had been an increase in national per cent positivity after a period of decline, but COVID-19 indicators of severity remained low.
Rasmussen said increases in COVID-19 can be expected as colder weather moves into Canada and people should take precautions.
"The bottom line is that everyone should ensure they are up to date on vaccines, and consider adding other precautions such as masks when cases are on the rise or when at higher risk (for example, when travelling)," she said.
Even when not mandated, masks can still play an important role in keeping infections at bay.
"When layered with other public health measures, a well-constructed, well-fitting and properly worn mask can help prevent you from getting COVID-19 and spreading COVID-19 to others," Health Canada said in an email.
Sources
Social media claims can be found on X (, ) and (), and on TikTok (, ).
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