Ontario has entered another wave of COVID-19, experts say
Ontario has entered a summer wave of COVID-19 as hospitalizations and wastewater data slowly creep upwards, infectious diseases experts say.
“We’re in one. It’s the real deal. I don't know how big it’s going to get, but it’s here,” Toronto infectious diseases specialist Dr. Isaac Bogoch told CTV News Toronto on Monday.
Bogoch points to COVID-19 wastewater data as a central indicator. Throughout June, this data has been ticking upward. It follows a steep drop in viral activity discovered in Ontario wastewater through most of the spring.
Along with wastewater, Bogoch points to an increase in the number of people testing positive for COVID-19. While testing is limited, the seven-day average for new cases detected through PCR testing was up 34 per cent week-over-week in the province’s most recent data.
“That's been a very reliable indicator, even though we're not testing broadly,” Bogoch said. “We're at least testing consistently.”
He said that hospitalizations, which are a lagging indicator of COVID-19’s spread, are also seeing an increase. The latest data from the government said there are 585 people in Ontario hospitals testing positive for the virus, up from 486 a week earlier.
“This is largely driven by the BA.5 sublineage of Omicron. We know that it's probably the dominant variant right now in most of Canada. And it has the ability to wriggle through some of the protective immunity that we would get from vaccination or recovery from infection,” he said.
Back in May, Dr. Kieran Moore, the province’s chief medical officer of health, predicted a "low level of endemic activity" throughout the summer followed by higher transmission in the fall due to an increase of indoor activities. But since then, BA.5 – the subvariant with the fastest growth rate – has rapidly spread in Ontario.
Dr. Sumon Chakrabarti, an infectious diseases specialist in Mississauga, said while BA. 5 has largely taken hold of the country, the timing of this wave is worth noting.
“In the summertime, the health-care system is much better equipped to deal with this and absorb it,” he said.
Compared to the Omicron wave in December, Chakrabarti said he doesn’t expect to see that same magnitude.
“We just have to remember the nature of respiratory viruses, especially when they become a tad more transmissible and they become more immune evasive. There is an equilibrium that forms between the community and the virus and you see this wave activity,” Chakrabarti explained.
“This wave is going to be a different one and it’s not the same kind of intensity as the previous ones were.”
When speaking to CP24 on Monday afternoon, the scientific director for Ontario's COVID-19 Science Advisory Table, did not confirm Ontario was specifically in another wave of the pandemic, saying only that "the virus has proven to be a really terrible adversary."
"It has mutated to the extent that what is currently circulating now in Ontario, in Canada, and the world is almost unrecognizable compared to what we originally saw," Dr. Fahad Razak said. "What happens in the future, it's really unclear."
"The fall will be a high-risk period for us though, because it's not just COVID. It's the other respiratory viruses like influenza, RSV, so we need to be aware of that," he said.
Razak urged residents to continue to get their COVID-19 vaccine in order to better protect themselves from the virus.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction overturned by N.Y. appeals court
New York's highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction, reversing a landmark ruling of the #MeToo era in determining the trial judge improperly allowed women to testify about allegations against the ex-movie mogul that weren't part of the case.
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment that is banned at Queen’s Park.
CTE: Researchers believe widespread brain injury may contribute to veteran suicide rate
Researchers are working to better understand if some Canadian military veterans may be suffering from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, also known as CTE -- a disorder previously found in the brains of professional football and hockey players after their death.
1 arrested in northern Alberta during public shelter order
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
New deep-water channel allows first ship to pass Key bridge wreckage in Baltimore
The first cargo ship passed through a newly opened deep-water channel in Baltimore on Thursday after being stuck in the harbor since the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed four weeks ago, halting most maritime traffic through the city's port.
First in Canada procedure performed at London, Ont. hospital
A London man has become the first person in Canada to receive a robotic assisted surgery on his spine. Dave Myeh suffered from debilitating, chronic back pain that led to sciatica in his right now and extreme pain in his lower back.