Experts warn as summer festivals unfold across Canada, there’s also another wave of COVID-19.
“There’s the potential for things to get worse if we’re not a little careful and don’t take some basic steps to try to minimize the spread of these variants,” said Dr. Montreal epidemiologist and cardiologist, told CTV News.
The more infectious Omicron subvariates BA.4 and BA.5 are expected to account for a larger proportion of all COVID-19 cases in Canada.
The lab said people could be more vulnerable if it had been longer since their last dose of vaccine.
He also noted Canada’s provinces and territories have lifted many of their public health restrictions, including mask requirements.
“If you’re indoors with a lot of other people breathing the same air, I don’t know why you wouldn’t want to wear a mask at this point, because it will stop the spread of the virus,” Labos said. This is a low-cost, low-risk way to do it.
The Ontario COVID-19 Scientific Advisory Panel estimates that COVID-19 concentrations in wastewater are already half that of the peak of the last Omicron in April and could reach those peaks within weeks. again.
“The data we’re looking at right now isn’t the best news for July,” said Robert Delatolla, a professor at the University of Ottawa who has done research on wastewater treatment. saw a significant increase in the wastewater signal,” disease surveillance, told CTV National News.
An increased wastewater signal can serve as a leading indicator of what is likely to happen in relation to COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, as is the case in Quebec.
“I think it’s good in terms of media to let the public know, so people can decide for themselves what they’re doing. Whether they want to cover their faces or not, are they going to a certain event? or not, and if they do those events there may or may not be a mask,” Delatolla said.
Meanwhile, staffing shortages at hospitals are putting an additional strain on the healthcare system.
The issue is expected to be a topic of discussion at the next meeting of Canadian prime ministers in Victoria this week, with calls to continue for the federal government to increase its share of health care spending. strong.
With files from CTV News and The Canadian Press
