The South African variant has arrived in Windsor-Essex.
Medical Officer of Health Dr. Wajid Ahmed says two cases of the variant have been identified in the region.
He says based on scientific data, the South African variant is more transmissible than the original SARS-CoV-2 virus.
"We don't know if it leads to more severe disease but we do know, UK variant leads to more severe disease," he says.
Dr. Ahmed says research continues but it is possible for a vaccinated individual to contract the South African variant.
"The key impact for this particular variant of concern is that all the available vaccines maybe not be as affective for this particular variant of concern," says Dr. Ahmed.
He adds it's important for residents to continue to follow all public health safety measures.
"With the introduction of these VOCs, we are not only fighting one pandemic, we could soon end up having two pandemics, one with the original SARS-CoV-2 and the other one with the variant of concern," he says.
There have been 550 variant of concern cases confirmed in the region, 477 have been identified as the United Kingdom variant.