TORONTO – More than a new wave: it’s a tsunami. Omicron has attacked (also) Canada, making the infections from Covid-19 increase exponentially, despite – after the winter wave – the virus seemed to be in a downward phase. In fact, data from the Canadian task force reveal how quickly Omicron and its sub-variants spread across the country as early as the end of 2021 and early this year. The task force reported that as many as 17 million Canadians were infected in just five months, between December 2021 and May 2022. This means that the daily average of new infections was over 100,000. A record, enough to push the members of the task force themselves to define the wave “Omicron tsunami”. 

“This variant was extremely transmissible. It caused people without symptoms, so everyone went on to make their living and, all in all, in those months all Canadian restrictions were lifted”, Dr Hankins, co-chair of the Canadian task force, told Global News.

The results come from blood tests conducted throughout the country, to measure the presence of Covid-19. Further confirmation, there was the recent increase in the number of daily cases in several areas of Canada: in Quebec, for example, the highest number of new infections in more than two months was registered on 6 July.

And it doesn’t end there: the Canadian Public Health Agency (PHAC) predicts even more cases in the coming months due to the increase in Omicron’s BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants.

“Many people mistakenly think that if you catch Covid-19 once you will never get it again. That’s not true”, epidemiologist Christopher Labos told Global News.

It is true that a high percentage of Canadians are fully vaccinated, but most young people and middle-aged adults have not yet received the third dose. Anyway, even those who have done the “booster” are at risk of infection. “If it has been a long time since the third dose, especially the risk categories are more exposed. And it would be appropriate for these subjects to take the fourth dose,” said Dr. Labos.

However, according to epidemiologists, even if restrictions are fallen, wearing masks in crowded spaces still offers the best protection against Covid-19. As if to say: don’t listen to the governments. Use the mask.

Photo by Patrick Assalé on Unsplash