Another COVID-19 wave unlikely in Canada say experts, even with increased global cases
Global News
As COVID-19 cases rise in some parts of the world, experts say they are unsure if Canada is likely to see another wave even with loosened public health measures.
After nearly a month of decline, COVID-19 infections around the world have started to creep up again. New cases have shot up by eight per cent globally compared to the previous week, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). However, experts are not sure Canada will see another wave even with loosened public health measures.
“WHO looks at global numbers,” infectious disease specialist Dr. Gerald Evans told Global News in an interview Wednesday. “So, they’re going to be skewed by places like China, where numbers have increased.”
The increase of COVID cases around the world is caused by a combination of factors, including the highly transmissible Omicron variant and its cousin the BA.2 sub-variant, and the lifting of public health and social measures, according to the WHO.
“Western Europe is probably a better area for us to look at when we think to ourselves what could happen to us this spring,” said Evans. “They’re a little bit ahead of what we’ve been doing here in Canada … because of those two factors: a more transmissible variant and a reduction in public health measures.”
He explained that the BA.2 sub-variant is more transmissible and is more common in western Canada where public health restrictions have been lifted. There could be an increase in cases in Canada as seen in Europe following their reduction of public health measures.
“Is that going to be a wave? That’s the part that’s a little more difficult to be certain about. It has a lot to do with whether Canadians will completely abandon all the public health measures,” Evans said.
The increase in COVID-19 cases has led to lockdowns in Asia. China’s Jilin province is battling to contain an outbreak.
Canada’s daily COVID-19 cases have fallen since the record-setting fifth wave fuelled by the highly transmissible Omicron variant, but have plateaued at a level higher than seen before in the two-year-long pandemic.
Net-neutrality rules require internet service providers to treat data and users equally rather than restricting access, slowing speeds or blocking content for certain users.
Health officials have said the person was older than 65, had underlying medical problems and had been in contact with sick and dead birds in a backyard flock.
As 2025 arrives, experts break down the trending diets, highlighting the science-backed winners, the cautious choices to consider and the fads that might not live up to the hype.
"I think it's fair to say from a scientific perspective, if they have the same hardwiring, they're going to have the same emotions (as humans)."
The new report recommends health care providers should encourage alcohol screening and treatment referrals as needed, and efforts to increase general awareness should be expanded.
J35 made international headlines in 2018 when she carried the young whale’s carcass with her for more than two weeks and 1,500 kilometres.
The new Know Alcohol calculator was developed by researchers at UVic's Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research and calculates personalized health risks from drinking.
A single organization called Éco Entreprises Québec is to now manage recycling across the province on behalf of companies that produce packaging and paper.
The teen became the first critically ill pediatric patient with avian influenza in North America and information was published this week in the New England Journal of Medicine.
A sea otter has been seen clambering onto a surfboard and following surfers off Vancouver Island, prompting reminders from Fisheries and Oceans Canada to avoid close interactions with the mammals.
According to the case summary, the patient was a 13-year-old girl with a history of mild asthma who first reported to a hospital on Nov. 4.