Canada headed towards 6th COVID-19 wave this spring, experts warn
Global News
The more contagious BA.2 subvariant of Omicron and fast easing of public health measures are causing cases and hospitalizations to go up, experts say.
Canada is heading towards a potential sixth COVID-19 wave, experts say, as cases and hospitalizations have started to creep back up again across the country.
While average daily case counts have levelled off nationally, there continues to be regional variability across the country with several jurisdictions reporting increases, said Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s chief public health officer in her latest weekly update on Friday.
A Global News analysis of the latest provincial wastewater data also shows a resurgence of COVID-19 in Ontario, Alberta, Saskatchewan and parts of British Columbia.
The more contagious BA.2 subvariant of Omicron, which is now the dominant version of the virus in several provinces, coupled with loosened public health measures is driving the increase, experts say.
“It looks like we are heading towards another spring wave,” said Dr. Gerald Evans, an infectious disease specialist at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ont.
The rise is more prominent on the eastern coast than Western Canada, according to Dr. Horacio Bach, an infectious diseases expert at the University of British Columbia, who like Evans says that restrictions were lifted too quickly.
The upward trend is being reported in several Canadian provinces.
In Quebec, since the start of March there has been a 4-per cent increase in total infections and hospitalizations have spiked in recent days.
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