Another COVID-19 wave unlikely in Canada say experts, even with increased global cases
Global News
As COVID-19 cases rise in some parts of the world, experts say they are unsure if Canada is likely to see another wave even with loosened public health measures.
After nearly a month of decline, COVID-19 infections around the world have started to creep up again. New cases have shot up by eight per cent globally compared to the previous week, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). However, experts are not sure Canada will see another wave even with loosened public health measures.
“WHO looks at global numbers,” infectious disease specialist Dr. Gerald Evans told Global News in an interview Wednesday. “So, they’re going to be skewed by places like China, where numbers have increased.”
The increase of COVID cases around the world is caused by a combination of factors, including the highly transmissible Omicron variant and its cousin the BA.2 sub-variant, and the lifting of public health and social measures, according to the WHO.
“Western Europe is probably a better area for us to look at when we think to ourselves what could happen to us this spring,” said Evans. “They’re a little bit ahead of what we’ve been doing here in Canada … because of those two factors: a more transmissible variant and a reduction in public health measures.”
He explained that the BA.2 sub-variant is more transmissible and is more common in western Canada where public health restrictions have been lifted. There could be an increase in cases in Canada as seen in Europe following their reduction of public health measures.
“Is that going to be a wave? That’s the part that’s a little more difficult to be certain about. It has a lot to do with whether Canadians will completely abandon all the public health measures,” Evans said.
The increase in COVID-19 cases has led to lockdowns in Asia. China’s Jilin province is battling to contain an outbreak.
Canada’s daily COVID-19 cases have fallen since the record-setting fifth wave fuelled by the highly transmissible Omicron variant, but have plateaued at a level higher than seen before in the two-year-long pandemic.
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