The federal government is expected to provide an update on COVID-19 Friday morning as the Omicron variant continues to spread across Canada.
Minister of Health Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Infrastructure Dominic LeBlanc and Government of Canada officials will be attending the virtual briefing.
The update is scheduled to take place at 11 a.m. EST and will be livestreamed on globalnews.ca.
Omicron has been driving up COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations across Canada since its introduction to the country last month.
On Friday, Canada reported 43,148 cases and 60 deaths. There are currently 376,670 active cases of COVID-19 in the country. The federal laboratory data includes specimens received by labs up to Jan. 4 to allow time to process results.
The national tally of people in hospital with COVID-19 has been rising, too. As of Jan. 3, 4,106 people were in hospital with COVID-19, compared to 1,919 on Dec. 27. Intensive care units in Canada were occupied with 640 patients, up from 483 in the same time period.
Omicron’s surge has put a strain on Canada’s testing capacity as well, and a number of provinces have restricted PCR testing due to overwhelming demand. The Public Health Agency of Canada has cautioned that daily case counts would likely underestimate the total burden of the disease going forward.
With demands for testing so high, the federal government said Wednesday it is sending 140 million rapid antigen tests to provinces in January.
The tests, while less sensitive compared to PCR testing, have become a key component in provincial COVID-19 responses in order to ease pressure on health systems during the wave.
However, their popularity has resulted in supply shortages across the country. Before the holidays, millions of people snapped them up when they could, some standing in hours-long lines at shopping malls and liquor stores.
Omicron has not only strained the testing system, but the workforce as well.
In Ontario, where the number of COVID-19 hospital patients is rising, numerous hospitals are reporting massive staff absences due to COVID-19 sickness.
Outbreaks in the province’s long-term care homes have led to staff absences of 20 to 30 per cent in some areas.
In Quebec, the government said about 20,000 health-care workers are off the job after testing positive or being exposed to the virus. Furthermore, four federal prisons in the province said they’re now “very close” to experiencing staff shortages from COVID-19. Hospitals in New Brunswick said they too are struggling with staffing issues.
Police forces in Edmonton, Calgary and Winnipeg are facing similar staffing issues, as is Winnipeg Transit and the fire department in Prince Rupert in northwestern British Columbia.
To date, roughly 76 per cent of Canada’s total population is fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
— with files from The Canadian Press
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