TORONTO-
As the head of the World Health Organization says the end of the COVID-19 pandemic is “in sight”, some Canadian experts are warning that it would be premature to declare an end to the global health crisis.
Their comments come after WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced on Wednesday that the number of deaths attributed to COVID-19 worldwide over the past week had reached the lowest point since the start of the pandemic.
He also urged governments to remain vigilant so as not to back down at a pivotal moment.
Dr. Fahad Razak, who led the recently disbanded group of scientists advising the Ontario government on COVID-19, says coronavirus variants have traditionally sprung up over the fall and winter, causing a increase in cases and deaths.
He says it stands to reason it could happen again this year.
Razak says if we don’t see a new surge during peak COVID season, then experts might be more willing to declare the pandemic over in the spring.
But Colin Furness, an assistant professor at the University of Toronto’s Dalla Lana School of Public Health, says the pandemic continues to wreak havoc, leading to excess mortality and a labor shortage that further delays the system. already under pressure.
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on September 16, 2022.
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