SUDBURY -- The outbreak at the Skyline-Lancelot apartment building in North Bay has grown to 24 cases, with 18 of them confirmed to be a variant strain of COVID-19.

Of the positive cases, the North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit said 19 of the cases involve residents, the rest visitors to the building. About 130 people live in the apartments.

While the exact strain of the variant of concern, as they are known, has not yet been identified. However, the variants tend to be much more contagious than the normal COVID virus.

The outbreak emerged Feb. 4 and health unit staff, wearing full personal protective equipment, went door-to-door on Feb. 6 to inform the residents about the COVID-19 situation in their building. About 110 people have been tested.

"The health unit is still awaiting the final results for all samples and will inform the public of the strain once confirmed," the health unit said in a news release Thursday.

"All individuals who have tested positive for COVID-19 and high-risk contacts are required to self-isolate."

For more information on COVID-19, visit the health unit's website