Canada is heading towards a potential sixth COVID-19 wave, experts say, as cases and hospitalizations have started to creep back up again across the country.
While average daily case counts have levelled off nationally, there continues to be regional variability across the country with several jurisdictions reporting increases, said Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s chief public health officer in her latest weekly update on Friday.
A Global News analysis of the latest provincial wastewater data also shows a resurgence of COVID-19 in Ontario, Alberta, Saskatchewan and parts of British Columbia.
The more contagious BA.2 subvariant of Omicron, which is now the dominant version of the virus in several provinces, coupled with loosened public health measures is driving the increase, experts say.
“It looks like we are heading towards another spring wave,” said Dr. Gerald Evans, an infectious disease specialist at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ont.
The rise is more prominent on the eastern coast than Western Canada, according to Dr. Horacio Bach, an infectious diseases expert at the University of British Columbia, who like Evans says that restrictions were lifted too quickly.
What is the trend?
The upward trend is being reported in several Canadian provinces.
On Tuesday, the province reported 1,153 hospitalizations, representing a 38-patient increase compared to the previous day, and 63 people were listed in intensive care unit — an increase of 10 cases.
Dr. Donald Vinh, an infectious disease specialist and medical microbiologist at the McGill University Health Centre, said Quebec is seeing a “high positivity rate” which signals ongoing community transmission.
In Ontario, following a dip in February, COVID-19 cases started spiking in early March, coinciding with the province’s phased reopening, according to wastewater data surveillance by the Ontario COVID-19 Science Advisory Table.
Data source: Ontario COVID-19 Science Advisory Table
Dr. Isaac Bogoch, an infectious diseases expert at the Toronto General Hospital, said it is “pretty clear that there’s a growing burden of COVID in many communities across the province.”
As of Monday, 288 people were in hospital, including 48 patients who were in intensive care. The number dipped down again on Tuesday to 273 patients, yet the province has seen multiple irregular daily increases over the past week after six straight weeks of declines.
Bach of UBC said his biggest concern is the risk to vulnerable populations, including older Canadians and those with weakened immune systems.
It’s a similar story in Alberta, where an upward trend of cases started in early March, according to wastewater samples.
2:00 Approximately 60% of Alberta COVID-19 cases are Omicron subvariant BA.2: Hinshaw
Approximately 60% of Alberta COVID-19 cases are Omicron subvariant BA.2: Hinshaw
What could a spring wave look like?
Based on the current modelling, experts anticipate that the spring wave will not only cause cases to rise, but there is also the risk of an increase in hospitalizations, ICU admissions and deaths.
“I don’t think anyone would be surprised if in a few days, or sometime next week we start to see a rise in hospitalizations as well, that corresponds with the rise in cases,” said Bogoch.
Evans echoed that thought, but added that the numbers “won’t be quite as high as we’ve seen in previous waves” because Omicron and its BA.2 sublineage produces a milder disease in the vaccinated population.
However, with the health-care system already strained due to hospital staff off the job with the virus, there is concern about the surge in infections if Canada hits another peak.
“We’re facing a bit of a critical staffing issue right now in health care,” said Evans.
“We don’t have full staffing at the moment, and that’s going to continue to be a challenge,” he told Global News.
4:46 Another COVID-19 wave could be coming
Another COVID-19 wave could be coming
The good news is that more than 80 per cent of the Canadian population is fully vaccinated, while 47 per cent have received three doses.
Dr. Allison McGeer, an infectious disease physician at Sinai Health System, said protection from a third COVID-19 booster shot especially in older adults could be declining three to four months after the third dose.
And that could potentially result in a lot more severe cases in older people who have three doses of the vaccine.
Besides long-term care homes, the Ontario government is also making fourth doses available to residents of the province’s retirement homes, elder care lodges and other congregate settings.
Canada’s National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) has recommended that moderately or severely immunocompromised Canadians may receive a second booster or fourth shot at least six months after their last dose.
However, a fourth shot has not yet been approved for the general population.
1:53 ‘Rise of the BA.2 variant is worrisome’: Quebec urges caution as it warns of ‘possible’ 6th COVID wave
‘Rise of the BA.2 variant is worrisome’: Quebec urges caution as it warns of ‘possible’ 6th COVID wave
Can a 6th wave be prevented?
The only way to prevent another wave would be to reintroduce restrictions, experts say, but that is unlikely to happen.
“There’s no appetite for that,” said Evans.
Vinh said another lockdown is not necessarily needed, but regulating social activities, limiting the size of gatherings, improving ventilation and reinforcing mask mandates in indoor settings could help mitigate community transmission.
“None of us want to go backwards … but … if we don’t get this under control, we will end up going backwards,” he said.
5:54 Is Canada headed for a spring COVID surge? Dr. Isaac Bogoch weighs-in
Is Canada headed for a spring COVID surge? Dr. Isaac Bogoch weighs-in
— with files from Jamie Mauracher, The Canadian Press
VANCOUVER – Contract negotiations resume today in Vancouver in a labour dispute that has paralyzed container cargo shipping at British Columbia’s ports since Monday.
The BC Maritime Employers Association and International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 are scheduled to meet for the next three days in mediated talks to try to break a deadlock in negotiations.
The union, which represents more than 700 longshore supervisors at ports, including Vancouver, Prince Rupert and Nanaimo, has been without a contract since March last year.
The latest talks come after employers locked out workers in response to what it said was “strike activity” by union members.
The start of the lockout was then followed by several days of no engagement between the two parties, prompting federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon to speak with leaders on both sides, asking them to restart talks.
MacKinnon had said that the talks were “progressing at an insufficient pace, indicating a concerning absence of urgency from the parties involved” — a sentiment echoed by several business groups across Canada.
In a joint letter, more than 100 organizations, including the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Business Council of Canada and associations representing industries from automotive and fertilizer to retail and mining, urged the government to do whatever it takes to end the work stoppage.
“While we acknowledge efforts to continue with mediation, parties have not been able to come to a negotiated agreement,” the letter says. “So, the federal government must take decisive action, using every tool at its disposal to resolve this dispute and limit the damage caused by this disruption.
“We simply cannot afford to once again put Canadian businesses at risk, which in turn puts Canadian livelihoods at risk.”
In the meantime, the union says it has filed a complaint to the Canada Industrial Relations Board against the employers, alleging the association threatened to pull existing conditions out of the last contract in direct contact with its members.
“The BCMEA is trying to undermine the union by attempting to turn members against its democratically elected leadership and bargaining committee — despite the fact that the BCMEA knows full well we received a 96 per cent mandate to take job action if needed,” union president Frank Morena said in a statement.
The employers have responded by calling the complaint “another meritless claim,” adding the final offer to the union that includes a 19.2 per cent wage increase over a four-year term remains on the table.
“The final offer has been on the table for over a week and represents a fair and balanced proposal for employees, and if accepted would end this dispute,” the employers’ statement says. “The offer does not require any concessions from the union.”
The union says the offer does not address the key issue of staffing requirement at the terminals as the port introduces more automation to cargo loading and unloading, which could potentially require fewer workers to operate than older systems.
The Port of Vancouver is the largest in Canada and has seen a number of labour disruptions, including two instances involving the rail and grain storage sectors earlier this year.
A 13-day strike by another group of workers at the port last year resulted in the disruption of a significant amount of shipping and trade.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
The Royal Canadian Legion says a new partnership with e-commerce giant Amazon is helping boost its veterans’ fund, and will hopefully expand its donor base in the digital world.
Since the Oct. 25 launch of its Amazon.ca storefront, the legion says it has received nearly 10,000 orders for poppies.
Online shoppers can order lapel poppies on Amazon in exchange for donations or buy items such as “We Remember” lawn signs, Remembrance Day pins and other accessories, with all proceeds going to the legion’s Poppy Trust Fund for Canadian veterans and their families.
Nujma Bond, the legion’s national spokesperson, said the organization sees this move as keeping up with modern purchasing habits.
“As the world around us evolves we have been looking at different ways to distribute poppies and to make it easier for people to access them,” she said in an interview.
“This is definitely a way to reach a wider number of Canadians of all ages. And certainly younger Canadians are much more active on the web, on social media in general, so we’re also engaging in that way.”
Al Plume, a member of a legion branch in Trenton, Ont., said the online store can also help with outreach to veterans who are far from home.
“For veterans that are overseas and are away, (or) can’t get to a store they can order them online, it’s Amazon.” Plume said.
Plume spent 35 years in the military with the Royal Engineers, and retired eight years ago. He said making sure veterans are looked after is his passion.
“I’ve seen the struggles that our veterans have had with Veterans Affairs … and that’s why I got involved, with making sure that the people get to them and help the veterans with their paperwork.”
But the message about the Amazon storefront didn’t appear to reach all of the legion’s locations, with volunteers at Branch 179 on Vancouver’s Commercial Drive saying they hadn’t heard about the online push.
Holly Paddon, the branch’s poppy campaign co-ordinator and bartender, said the Amazon partnership never came up in meetings with other legion volunteers and officials.
“I work at the legion, I work with the Vancouver poppy office and I go to the meetings for the Vancouver poppy campaign — which includes all the legions in Vancouver — and not once has this been mentioned,” she said.
Paddon said the initiative is a great idea, but she would like to have known more about it.
The legion also sells a larger collection of items at poppystore.ca.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
