COVID-19: BA.5 variant soon to be dominant in Saskatchewan, deputy CMHO says
Global News
Dr. Julie Kryzanowski said Wednesday the province expects BA.5, which is being linked to a global rise in cases, to take over BA.2 as the most common strain in the province.
Saskatchewan’s deputy chief medical health officer says she expects the highly contagious BA.5 Omicron COVID-19 subvariant to become dominant in the province, which health authorities say has the potential to result in increased pressure on health care resources.
“BA.5 is more transmissible than previous lineages of Omicron,” Dr. Julie Kryzanowski said Wednesday, adding that BA.5 is likely contributing to a recent uptick in detected COVID-19 cases nationwide.
“We expect that over time it will replace BA.2 as the dominant lineage of Omicron in the province.”
According to the World Health Organization, BA.5 has already become dominant globally and is likely helping contribute to what is now a fifth straight week of increasing global cases.
Meanwhile on June 30, Dr. Theresa Tam said in a statement that “it is reasonable to expect that we could see an increase in case numbers in the coming weeks as a result of the BA.4 and BA.5 sub-lineages increasing in proportion.
Kryzanowski didn’t comment specifically on whether or not she thinks Saskatchewan is in the early stages of its own summer wave, but said overall BA.5 trends are alarming.
“What we are concerned about is that an increase in cases might also result in an increase in pressures on the acute care system,” she said, adding that those with conditional health risks should be taking precautions.
“The advice for people right now is for people is to be aware that COVID-19 continues to transmit throughout the province.”
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