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Chief Public Health Officer

Dr.-Tam

Some Optimism Surrounding The Pandemic

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Canada is moving out of the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

That’s according to the Chief Public Health Officer.

Dr. Theresa Tam says there is evidence the omicron variant is starting to wane.

“I think we are speaking on both counts, so coming out of the omicron wave, but also in the more than the two years of experience with this pandemic is that there is a significant build-up of immunity in the population,” states Tam.

Tam adds Canada is transitioning out of the crisis phase of COVID-19.

“We could do with a bit more boosting of the boosters. We’ve got treatments now coming on board. We should be able to manage the pandemic going into the future without, I think, some of the more stringent or restrictive public health measures.”

Dr. Tam adds we might have to re-impose health restrictions if other variants that prove to be severe and are immune to the vaccines.

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Current Surge In COVID-19 Cases Nearing A Peak

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The most recent modeling of COVID-19 shows the current wave of the omicron variant could ease by the beginning of February.

Dr. Theresa Tam says according to their data, the surge in cases is peaking.

“A number of the provinces, the biggest ones who have particularly experienced the omicron surge the earliest, are seeing some stabilization, at a very high level, but some a stabilization in the daily case rates,” says Tam.

“So I think that’s the early signal we could be approaching that peak.”

Dr. Tam adds that even though the omicron variant is less virulent, the sudden increase in cases is resulting in large numbers of hospitalizations.

“The sudden acceleration, and the enormous volume of cases associated with the omicron surge, puts an intense strain on hospitals over several weeks and adds to longer-lasting impacts such as extended backlogs and strained workforce.”

In her media briefing on Friday, Dr. Tam says most cases of COVID-19 in Canada are now the omicron variant.

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Omicron ‘Increasingly Responsible’ For Rising Case Numbers: Tam

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Canada’s chief public health officer said the Omicron variant is increasingly responsible for rising case counts.

During a federal COVID-19 briefing on Wednesday, Dr. Theresa Tam said in less than a week, we’ve seen a “rapid acceleration” of epidemic activity in locations across the country.

There have been more than 2360 confirmed Omicron cases so far.

“Modelling shows that by the beginning of January, we could have very high numbers of cases which underscore the need to act urgently now to reduce the acceleration,” Tam said.

During the last week, an average of 1,500 people were treated for COVID-19 in Canadian hospitals with 17 deaths daily.

Tam said current trends may be a lagging impact of increased Delta activity, the rapid increase in Omicron cases is expected to further impact trends even if it turns out to be less severe.

“We’re especially worried about the potential impact of a sudden and strong surge on the healthcare system. We’re urging all Canadians to do what they can to help mitigate this,” Tam said.

Tam said this variant spreads extremely quickly meaning a situation can quickly get out of hand.

She said we can all help by keeping gatherings small and getting booster doses as soon as they are available.

More than 7 million Canadians who have not been vaccinated are eligible for their first and second doses.

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Tam Concerned By Rising COVID-19 Cases Nationally

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Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer is concerned with the rising trend of COVID-19 case numbers.

Theresa Tam gave an update on national COVID-19 modelling, which shows the country is “at a crossroads” in its pandemic-response.

At a press conference Tuesday afternoon, Tam said the rate of contact in the country needs to decrease in order to suppress the rise of new cases.

The Chief Public Health Officer cited other countries as evidence that a second surge of the virus can exceed the initial wave.

As of Tuesday afternoon, more than 145,000 cases of COVID-19 had been diagnosed, and at least 9,228 people have died since the pandemic was declared.

Last week, Ontario saw the reinstatement of stricter caps on indoor and outdoor gatherings, but Tam says they aren’t the only province seeing an uptick in instances of the virus.

“Although the pattern of epidemic curves varies by region, all provinces west of the Atlantic region are showing increasing incidents of COVID-19,” Tam said.

Tam says the current surge in cases hasn’t yet led to a big rise in COVID-related deaths, or hospitalizations, but those numbers often lag behind the discovery of new cases.

Since June, Canadians in their 20s have been the leading factor in rising case numbers across the country.

Tam says that while younger patients seem to be less at risk of fatal outcomes, the increase in carriers can lead to spread to other demographics.

“Ongoing circulation of the virus in younger, more mobile and socially-connected adults builds a reservoir for the virus,” Tam said. “Increasing the risk of spread to individuals and population at a higher risk of severe outcomes, and threatening our ability to maintain epidemic control.”

As society continues to await an effective COVID-19 vaccine, the goal of world governments continues to be to maintain the number of caseloads at a low enough volume so as not to overwhelm emergency room capacity.

Tam did say that the number of cases stemming from each outbreak appears to be in decline.

“A review of publicly-reported outbreaks in long-term care settings over the course of the epidemic suggests that the number of cases per outbreak has declined from over 30 cases per outbreak in April, to less than five cases per outbreak in August.”

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Feds Release New COVID-19 Modelling

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Seniors continue to be hardest-hit by COVID-19, according to new numbers from Canada’s chief public health officer.

Dr. Theresa Tam says eight per cent of Canadians with the virus have died, and 94 per cent were aged 60 or older.

“Tragically, over 82 per cent of deaths are linked to long-term care and seniors homes, where outbreaks have been occurring since the outset,” said Tam on Thursday.

There have been more than 900 separate outbreaks in long-term care and assisted living homes, she said.

Seniors have also accounted for 71 per cent of all hospital admissions and 61 per cent of intensive care admissions.

Tam said the outbreak has occurred in most regions of Canada, but the vast majority of cases have been in Ontario and Quebec, with community transmission hotspots in the Toronto and Montreal areas.

As of mid-day Thursday, there were more than 93,400 confirmed cases of COVID-19 across Canada and more than 7,500 deaths.

Tam said new modelling data shows there could be a total of 98,000 to 107,500 confirmed cases by June 15.

“The predicted number of deaths could be in the range of 7,700 to 9,400 by June 15,” she said.

Tam said public health measures remain essential to helping control the COVID-19 epidemic across the country.

She said the loosening of distancing must be accompanied by enhancements to other measures, including case detection and contact tracing.

“These models all tell us that if we relax too much or too soon, the epidemic will most likely rebound with explosive growth as a distinct possibility,” said Tam.

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Tam Cautions Patience For Possibility Of Reopening

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Canada’s chief public health officer is warning residents to proceed with reopening carefully.

Dr. Theresa Tam said there won’t be a grand reopening as the seasons continue.

“Until effective therapies or a vaccine is widely available, our aim must be to carefully balance the direct risks associated to COVID-19 epidemic activity with the unintended health, social and economic consequences,” she said.

There are now 79,491 cases of COVID-19 including 5,955 deaths.

“That means reopening to lessen negative consequences while maintaining core public health practices to keep COIVD-19 activity to a low level,” she said.

“For the spring and summer months, strict adherence to the Public Health basics are physical distancing, handwashing and cough etiquette must continue as the bare minimum,” she said.

4,342 or 51 per cent have now recovered from COVID-19.

1,372,000 residents have been tested with 5 per cent testing positive.

Tam said where COVID-19 activity is occurring, use of nonmedical masks or face coverings is recommended as an added layer of protection when physical distancing is difficult to maintain.

She said staying home when sick is a must, always.

Tam said there will be a federal, provincial, territorial special advisory committee on COVID-19’s recommendation on nonmedical masks on Wednesday.

She said we won’t get through this pandemic to fall and winter on hope alone.

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Canada Surpasses One Million COVID-19 Tests

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Labs across the country have now tested over one million people for COVID-19.

That’s the latest update from Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer, Doctor Theresa Tam.

“There are now 63,895 confirmed cases, including 4,280 deaths,” says Doctor Tam, “Over 28-thousand, or 44 per-cent, have now recovered.”

She explains that the total confirmed cases work out to around six per-cent of all tests.

Doctor Tam adds that over the past week, there have been an average of over 25-thousand people tested every day.

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Canada Nears 25,000 Confirmed COVID-19 Cases

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Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer reported Monday afternoon that Canada has 24,804 cases of COVID-19, and 734 people have died as a result of the virus.

Dr. Theresa Tam said that a significant proportion of the cases that have resulted in death have taken place at long-term care facilities.

“Sadly, because COVID-19 can have a prolonged course, these deaths will continue to increase even as the epidemic growth rate slows down,” she said.

Dr. Tam said that Canada has seen some positive trends when it comes to the number of COVID-19 cases, but reiterated it remains important for all Canadians to follow health advisories like physical distancing.

“We know that physical distancing works to reduce the number of people who get infected, and once low enough the epidemic will run out of fuel,” Dr. Tam said.

She cited the decreasing number of day-over-day case numbers as a positive sign.

“One thing is certain: if we want a best-case scenario, we need to give it our best efforts.”