TORONTO – Ontario’s rising COVID-19 infection curve is a continuation of the fourth wave that started earlier in September, not the start of a fifth wave, the top doctor in the area said Thursday. province by warning that the upward trend would continue.
Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr Kieran Moore said the number of cases never returned to a low despite a slight drop before rising steadily again in late October.
“We never declared the fourth wave over, it’s just a continuation,” Moore told reporters.
“Unfortunately, all models predict that this will increase slowly, steadily, and increase over the next several months, including January and February.”
He said a higher number of cases were expected as people moved indoors in cold weather, and urged people to remain cautious until the weather warms up in the spring and more people become eligible for third doses of vaccine to protect against the “formidable enemy” of COVID-19.
“It keeps wanting to spread and it won’t slow down until we’re outside in the spring,” he said. “We have a period over the next four months where we will have to continue to be very, very vigilant.”
Ontario reported 748 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday and five other virus-related deaths as the seven-day average of infections rose to 692.
Some health units in the north and southwest of the province have responded to increases in local cases and Moore said the province was working to send resources to help.
Moore, Premier Doug Ford and Health Minister Christine Elliott have all said the province will respond locally to COVID-19 outbreaks and not reintroduce public health measures across the province.
Experts have linked the increase in cases at the end of October in part to the lifting of capacity limits in some indoor spaces, and some health units have since reintroduced these measures.
On Thursday, Moore said the province is also monitoring acute care capacity in hospitals.
The Ontario Science Advisory Table has modeled intensive care occupancy to reach 200 patients by the new year. As of Thursday, there were 135 patients in intensive care units across Ontario, including some from Saskatchewan.
The top medical official at Ontario Health, which oversees the provincial health system, told The Canadian Press this week that the province can treat between 250 and 300 COVID-19 patients in intensive care before other services like surgeries be canceled.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on November 25, 2021.
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