How to stay healthy this holiday season as COVID-19 infections surge

FILE - A staff member at a vaccine clinic looks outside the clinic for people waiting to get their COVID-19 vaccine or flu shot during the COVID-19 pandemic, in Mississauga, Ont., on Wednesday, April 13, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

An uptick in Ontario’s COVID-19 wastewater signal, more positive PCR tests and increased hospital admissions mean that the spread of COVID-19 is on the rise again.

This, in addition to the annual influenza flu, could make for a challenging holiday season.

But experts say that there are a number of precautions you can take to limit the spread of the virus, including making sure your vaccinations are up to date and choosing to wear a mask if you are concerned about transmission.

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“We’ve had three very difficult consecutive holiday seasons in Canada,” Dr. Fahad Razak, an internist at St. Michael's Hospital and the former scientific director of Ontario’s now defunct COVID-19 Science Advisory Table, told CP24 on Tuesday. “It’s really important that people get together and with friends and family, and we’re clearly not at the high risk point of the pandemic that we were a couple of years ago.”

According to the latest data from Public Health Ontario, the province’s wastewater signal stands at 2.26.

That is nearly double what it was at this point last year and represents the highest level of COVID-19 activity, as measured by wastewater surveillance, in more than a year.

Razak said that with holiday gatherings and other social events taking place it is important to remember that we are in a “significant period of COVID spread” even as we gather with loved ones.

“The number of test that are still being done, PCR tests that are coming back positive is greater than 20 per cent, which is also at a one-year high,” he said. “And that is also a reflection of the amount of spread that’s happening. The number of people who are in hospital who are COVID positive is also at a one-year high.”

GET VACCINATED

Earlier this month, Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Kieran Moore, said that levels of infection are expected to peak over the holiday season. Because it takes 10 to 14 days for protection to take effect, many experts are advising those who haven’t been vaccinated to get vaccinated as soon as possible.

According to data provided by the City of Toronto, 85 per cent of Toronto’s population has completed their primary vaccination series as of Nov. 23.

But only 11.4 per cent of the city’s population has received their most recent dose in the last six months, meaning that many have waning immunity.

Razak said that it is important that Ontarians stay up to date with their vaccinations and that means flu, COVID-19 and for the older adults who are eligible – the new RSV vaccine.

“The vaccine takes, depending on which vaccine, depending on the use, that is 10 to 14 days to really ramp up so there’s still a window now where people can go and get vaccinated,” Razak said. “But also the influenza vaccine because remember, there’s a lot of influenza circulating, and for high risk older adults, there’s also now new leaders here the RSV vaccine. So you know, remarkably scientifically right now we have vaccines for high risk older adults in all three major viruses that affect them in the holiday season for the first time in human history that we have this.”

RAPID TEST, BUT STAY HOME WHEN FEELING SERIOUSLY ILL

While many public health experts warned against attending large gatherings during past holiday seasons, a more nuanced approach is now being recommended.

Razak said that for him it comes down to using common sense when sick by staying home when it is obvious to do so.

“It is common sense, if you’re feeling really infectious, feeling terrible, not going out and mixing with friends and family, especially people who are higher risk,” Razak said.

Of course, rapid testing is still a valuable tool as well. However, some experts are advising against relying on it entirely.

“If someone has symptoms of infection, the rapid tests are not perfect, they certainly aren’t perfect,” Toronto General Hospital Infectious Diseases Specialist Isaac Bogoch said in an interview with CTV News.

“But obviously if the rapid test lights up like a Christmas tree and you’re feeling unwell, you shouldn’t be going anywhere.”

An effective way to reduce the spread since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic has been by wearing masks in crowded places, or while indoors. Both Bogoch and Razak recommend the continued use of masks if concerned about catching the COVID-19, or simply any, virus.

“In the absence of mandates, people choose to put on a mask in indoor setting and out in public and certainly that will reduce, not eliminate but reduce, the risk of COVID-19 and any other respiratory viruses.”

In addition, they advise ventilation to improve the quality of air in indoor environments.

“We could improve the quality of air in our indoor environments, and that helps reduce the risk of transmitting infections but also one of the most obvious ones if you’re sick, stay home. There’s no point going up and getting other people sick…" Bogoch said. 

And, despite there being “No 100 per cent risk free scenario,” Bogoch noted that luckily “COVID isn’t anything remotely close to what it was before” when the spread of the virus overwhelmed intensive care units.