Canada has passed the peak of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 and is now in a good shape to handle the pandemic in the future without needing to impose tougher restrictions, chief public health officer Theresa Tam said on Friday (Feb 18).
However, restrictive measures may still be needed if there was a new, severe variant of the coronavirus that escapes vaccine immunity, Tam said.
“We have more tools, we have many, many Canadians having been vaccinated … and we’ve got treatments now coming on board. We should be able to manage the pandemic going into the future without some of the more stringent or restrictive public health measures,” Tam told reporters at a briefing.
About 80per cent of Canadians have received two doses of a COVID vaccine, and over 40per cent have also received a third or a booster shot.
Tam’s comments come amid weeks of protests in Canada against the government’s pandemic measures.
Several provinces, including Alberta, Saskatchewan, Quebec and on Monday Ontario, Canada’s most populous province, have announced a relaxation of restrictions imposed during the pandemic as coronavirus infection rates fall.
The federal government has also announced a plan to ease entry for fully vaccinated international travelers starting on Feb 28, allowing a rapid antigen test for travelers instead of a molecular one.
Though multiple indicators show the Omicron variant of COVID-19 has peaked in Canada, infection rates remain elevated and hospitals continue to stay strained, Tam said at the briefing.
On average, around 8,100 new daily coronavirus infections were reported in the week to Feb 16, a 27 per cent decrease compared to the previous week.
Canada has recorded more than 3.2 million coronavirus cases since the start of the pandemic, and nearly 36,000 deaths.
For all the latest world News Click Here
