TORONTO – Skyrocketing infections and more than thirty thousand deaths from Covid-19 throughout Canada since the beginning of the pandemic: these are the sad data of today, negative on all fronts. Let’s start with Ontario, which reported the highest daily count of new cases in seven months. The province has in fact registered 2,421 new infections (53% of which of the Omicron variant), with an impressive increase compared to 1,808 new cases. Earlier this week, 1,476 new cases had been registered on Monday, 1,536 on Tuesday and 1,429 on Wednesday. 

The seven-day rolling average of daily infections is now at 1,676: a week ago it was at 1,055. The positivity rate is also growing again: with over 54,700 tests processed in the last 24 hours, the rate is now at 7% (a week ago it was 3.5%).

According to data from the Ontario Ministry of Health, 1,530 of the cases today involved fully vaccinated people, 686 unvaccinated, 72 partially vaccinated and 133 with an unknown vaccination status. Unvaccinated individuals, who make up about 23% of Ontario’s total population, now account for 28% of all cases. today, 137,803 doses of the vaccine were administered in the province, and more than 85% of Ontarians over the age of five received at least one dose of the vaccine, while nearly 81% received due.

As we wrote in today’s edition, Ontario has announced a plan to speed up the administration of third doses (or “boosters”): from Monday, all people over the age of 18 will be able to receive it without waiting for six months. from the second dose because three will be enough. Hoping in a rapid growth of third-dose vaccinations: now it’s  just a little over 1.4 million.

Today there were also nine other deaths that bring the death toll of the province, from the beginning of the pandemic, to 10,102. Across Canada, on the other hand, today the threshold of 30 thousand deaths since the beginning of the pandemic was exceeded: 30,008.

Moving on to the territorial distribution of Ontario cases, in the Greater Toronto Area, Toronto recorded 505 new cases, while 153 were reported in the Peel region, 143 in York, 112 in Halton and 97 in Durham. Elsewhere in Ontario, 206 new cases have been reported in Ottawa, 190 in Kingston, Frontenac and Lennox & Addington Public Health, and 115 in Niagara.

On the hospital front, there are 328 people hospitalized and 165 of them are in intensive care. 141 of the ICU patients are not fully vaccinated or have unknown vaccination status and 24 are fully vaccinated. Today another 1,013 people recovered from the virus: there are now 14,065 active cases (the known ones) throughout the province.

Meanwhile, the Ontario Science Table returned today to put pressure on the provincial government, reiterating that the province could “see 5,000 to more than 10,000 daily cases of Covid-19 and put hospitals in serious trouble by January, with 600 patients in the intensive care units and record numbers of daily cases, if immediate restrictions on the internal capacity of the premises do not arrive “.

“Without prompt intervention, ICU employment could reach unsustainable levels in early January,” experts said today, with Dr Adalsteinn Brown, dean of the University of Toronto’s Dalla Lana School of Public Health, who he told reporters that “the worst wave of the pandemic so far” is coming.

Experts therefore urge the province to immediately reduce capacity in all internal environments as well as to increase the distribution of rapid tests to the population. “Strong additional public health measures (at least 50% fewer contacts) and strong recall campaigns (250,000 per day) could blunt the Omicron wave. High quality masks, indoor physical distance, better ventilation and greater access quick tests can help buy time for the boosters (ie third doses) to take effect”, the experts said.

With an effort like this and more boosters, experts suggest the province could maintain ICU employment between 300 and 325 Covid patients by January 1. Although Omicron is found to cause 25% fewer severe cases, as noted in a preliminary South African study, ICU employment could approach 500-600 by January if no further steps are taken and vaccination rates remain at their current pace.

“The Omicron variant is 6.1 times more transmissible than Delta,” the experts said. And “there is no time to waste”.

Photo by Mufid Majnun on Unsplash