Variants Are Troublesome, But Ottawa Says Restrictions Could Ease For Summer

April 23, 2021 ctn_admin

Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer is worried about the rise of variants across the country. But she says public health restrictions could be lifted in time to save our summer if current lockdowns work and Canada continues to improve its vaccination rate.

Speaking at a news conference Friday morning, Tam said Canada is seeing a strong resurgence of COVID-19 infections this spring.

Federal COVID-19 data shows that more contagious variants of concern are driving a third wave in Canada, and that national disease and severity indicators “have increased considerably over the past month,” she said.

But she also held out hope for the summer.

According to CTV News, Tam said that if 75% of Canadian adults have their first dose and 20% have their second, hospital capacity would not be exceeded if restrictions are eased. But she said if only 55% of adults have their first dose and 20% have their second, that hospital capacity would be “widely exceeded” in the fall.

Right now, roughly 27% of Canadians have had their first dose, the network reports. But more vaccines are on the way.

Tam said that in addition to more jabs in arms, better tracking or tracing of COVID-19 is essential if public health measures are to be eased.

“These models give us hope, illustrating that there is a safe way to lift most restrictive public health measures… by this summer, if enough people get vaccinated,” Tam said. “The more people that get vaccinated, the safer it will be to lift restrictive public health measures.

“This is why it’s so important to roll up our sleeves.”  

According to Canadian Press, Tam said there’s reason for hope due to Canada’s declining reproduction rate, which represents how many people are infected by each new case. Tam said the rate has fallen below the key threshold of one for the first time in weeks, which means the rate of transmission is trending downwards.

Tam said that’s mostly because of restrictions put in place by Canadian provinces in recent weeks.

About the Author