Sixth wave was 'guaranteed' after mask mandates dropped, experts say
CTV
As officials in Ontario and Quebec report the provinces have entered a sixth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, some experts say the rise in infections was inevitable as health authorities removed restrictions amid the emergence of the Omicron subvariant BA.2.
Dr. Kashif Pirzada, an emergency physician in Toronto, told CTV News Channel on Wednesday that decreased public health vigilance cleared a path for BA.2 to drive up infections and hospitalizations.
"I think it was pretty predictable that when they dropped the mask mandates it pretty much guaranteed that this would happen," said Pirzada, adding that the sudden rise in hospitalizations in Ontario is "alarming."
Despite hopes that Canada's immunization rates and community level protection through infection could blunt the impacts of the so-called "stealth" subvariant, Pirzada said recent wastewater surveillance suggests otherwise.
Officials in Ontario, Quebec, Alberta and B.C. have recently reported wastewater analysis suggesting COVID-19 infections are climbing again.
