COVID-19 infections rising again in Ontario, but experts say no need to panic
CTV
COVID-19 cases are on the rise again in Ontario in a trend experts attribute to cooling temperatures, lifting capacity limits and less stringent precautions among the public.
"We're definitely out of the honeymoon phase and back in the fourth wave," Dr. Peter Juni, scientific director for Ontario's COVID-19 Science Advisory Table, said Monday.
The seven-day average for infections has risen to 476 from 362 a week ago, with daily counts ranging from the mid-400s to the mid-600s since late last week. On Monday, the province reported 480 new cases and two deaths linked to the virus.
Juni said the trend marks the end of a plateau in infections that came after an earlier bump in July -- the beginning of the fourth wave -- when the province's economic reopening accelerated and people began interacting in higher numbers.
Millions more Ontarians got vaccinated against the virus over the summer, Juni said, and people's behaviour stayed at a constant level, leading to a drop in infections in the fall.
