COVID-19 won’t disappear and provinces need to ‘evolve,’ says Canada’s top doctor

"We need to be able to address the ongoing presence of the SARS‑CoV‑2 virus in a more sustainable way," said chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam.

As Canada’s top doctor directs provinces to “evolve” with changes to the COVID-19 pandemic, British Columbia’s premier has said he’s looking for ways to balance public protection with individual freedom.

In a Friday press conference after a meeting of all Canadian premiers, John Horgan said he and other provincial and territorial leaders, discussed interprovincial travel rights as the Omicron variant continues to impact public health restrictions.

“As we come to this place of moving in the next number of weeks to potentially endemic rather than pandemic, we need to reimagine the tools at our disposal as citizens and as provinces, and as a federal government is,” said Horgan.

“How do we maximize our ability to protect people, which is our obligation, but also to ensure that their liberties are intact and they can make choices for themselves? It’s a fine balance and we’re all working together on how do we get there?”

In a news conference Friday, Canada’s chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam said that as Canada emerges from the “Omicron wave,” it’s important for governments to recognize that the virus isn’t going to disappear.

“We need to be able to address the ongoing presence of the SARS‑CoV‑2 virus in a more sustainable way,” she said.

“The virus will continue to evolve so we need to also continue to evolve our measures, recognizing that further waves will occur.”

Her comments come as two provinces, Alberta and Saskatchewan, have announced intentions to end most or all COVID-19 restrictions. Alberta aims to do so by the end of the month if hospitalization declines, and Saskatchewan has not committed to a date.