“The end is definitely in sight, but we’re not there yet. This third wave is more serious and we have to stay there for a few more weeks to make sure we can flatten that curve, drop those numbers again , to give an opportunity for vaccines to be taken advantage of, ”Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said during a news conference in Ottawa on Friday.
The situation is more serious in Ontario, Canada’s most populous province, where officials say the province is approaching projections of its “worst case scenario” for the third wave. The province came dangerously close on Friday to breaking the record for a one-day increase in cases and this week has already set a record revenue for the Covid-19-related intensive care unit.
“There are more and more young people hospitalized with Covid-19. Therefore, for young people: there are more contagious and more serious variants, even if you are younger, you can get sick very, very quickly,” he said. Trudeau.
Across the country, Canadian health officials say ICU admissions have risen more than 20% just last week as all of Canada’s most populous provinces face a third wave more threatening to the health care system than the two last.
“I can understand the frustration, anxiety and concern that Canadians across the country feel at seeing these numbers rise, I share that. I think we all recognize that we don’t want to be in this third wave but we are here,” Trudeau said.
The deployment of vaccines will not slow down new growth in some cases
Although Canada broke a record this week for doses of vaccines administered, Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s chief public health official, says vaccine deployment will not slow the rapid growth of cases, as the most contagious variants they spread throughout the country.
“Right now my concern is … to fill the ICU, not just the hospitalizations, because there is an absolute limit to the capacity of the ICU, not necessarily by equipment, but by people,” Tam said during the Friday press.
The province of Ontario, including Canada’s most populous city, Toronto, imposed a stay-at-home order for at least four weeks starting Thursday as the third wave threatens to overwhelm hospitals. However, restrictions have only moderately diminished new infections despite the fact that cities like Toronto have been in some sort of blockade since late November.
Ontario Prime Minister Doug Ford has imposed the province’s third state of emergency since the pandemic began. Non-essential retail stores, including malls, will close face-to-face shopping, with only grocery stores, pharmacies and gardens open to the public.
Dining rooms in restaurants, personal care services and gyms were already closed across the province, as last week a provincial officer closed many places but failed to fulfill the order to stay at home.
Toronto and the adjacent Peel region moved students to e-learning earlier this week just before a pre-scheduled spring break. The Ford government says its priority is to keep schools open across the province.
Outside Canada’s Atlantic provinces, the third wave of the pandemic is affecting hospitals in most of the country.
In a statement released Wednesday, Tam highlighted the threat of spreading variants and leading to more serious infections and diseases, especially among younger Canadians.
“While COVID-19 continues to affect people of all ages in Canada, infection rates are higher among people between the ages of 20 and 39. In addition, we are seeing an increase in the number of adults, under 60 years in treatment for COVID-19 in the hospital, including intensive care units, ”Tam said.