Ontario’s 7th COVID-19 wave is here, top doctors confirm in exponential growth

Ontario has officially entered the seventh wave of COVID-19. This time, it was propelled by the Omicron BA.5 subvariant and confirmed by the state’s top doctors.

“Unfortunately, we’re on another wave,” Dr. Kieran Moore said on Wednesday after Ontario’s COVID-19 Scientific Advisory Board pointed to exponential growth in most public health sectors. I told the news.

According to Moore, the state is currently considering further eligibility for booster doses, and the decision will be made shortly.

According to Moore, the BA.5 subvariant has risen slowly since early June, but in fact began to “take off” in the middle of the month, becoming the dominant stock. Ontario could take another four to five weeks on this wave, which is now about three weeks, he added.

The new wave is in the midst of summer, when many spend more time outdoors. Otherwise, it was expected to help curb the spread of the infection, raising questions about what happens as more Ontarions go indoors later this year.

“There are many unknowns in the fall, but we can guarantee all the Ontario people we have prepared,” Moore said.

“When we go indoors in the fall, we may ask Ontario to wear a mask, and if too many people are hospitalized in the healthcare system or are waiting in the emergency department. , May require a mask … all of us want to maintain a medical system capacity. “

In a series of tweets on Wednesday, the science table pointed out some important indicators of the beginning of the wave, just over a month after the end of most public health measures, including mask obligations.

Test positive rates above 10% for the first time since May

For the first time since May, science tables show positive test rates above 10% and rising wastewater signals throughout the state and in most regions.

The group says it is difficult to determine the actual reproduction number as the state moves to limit PCR testing, but about 80% of the public health sector is growing exponentially.

In addition, Ontario has seen an increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations for the first time since May, with more people infected with the virus than at any time last summer.

The latest figures tracked by the science table show that as of June 29, 605 people were hospitalized as a result of the virus. This is an increase of 89 from the previous week.

As of July 3, an estimated 6 people died from the virus per day, according to the group.

Signs of a new wave in Ontario come from the proliferation of cases caused by subvariants of Omicron, such as France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Belgium and Switzerland, already in some G10 countries.

If you haven’t done so already, get a third dose “now”, says the group

The group states that current evidence does not suggest that BA.5 is more severe than the strains that drove the previous wave, or leads to the level of hospitalization seen in the early stages of the pandemic. increase.

“But when the hospital is already dealing with staff shortages and recording wait times, there’s a surge, which affects all of us,” said the advisory table.

“And if BA.5 becomes widespread, deaths may increase in high-risk groups such as the elderly, as observed in previous waves.”

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This group advises people in crowded indoor public places to wear high quality masks and open doors and windows for airflow to ventilate as much as possible.

People over the age of 18 who have not received a third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine should “get it now,” the group says.

People over the age of 60 or with immunodeficiency should now receive a fourth vaccination. “It makes sense to get a qualified vaccine right now,” while the latest vaccines for new variants may be available this fall.

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“Even if you have recently been infected with an earlier strain, you can still be re-infected with BA.5,” the group said. “A non-severe infection can still disrupt your life and increase your long-term COVID risk.

After the state government has restricted lab tests and stopped publishing school-related data, it has become increasingly difficult over the past few months to provide a clear and complete picture of the status of COVID-19.

On June 11, the state also switched to weekly reporting of COVID-19 data after daily updates for more than two years.