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
DEVELOPING Person on fire outside Trump's hush money trial rushed away on a stretcher
A person who was on fire in a park outside the New York courthouse where Donald Trump’s hush money trial is taking place has been rushed away on a stretcher.
Mandisa, Grammy award-winning 'American Idol' alum, dead at 47
Soulful gospel artist Mandisa, a Grammy-winning singer who got her start as a contestant on 'American Idol' in 2006, has died, according to a statement on her verified social media. She was 47.
She set out to find a husband in a year. Then she matched with a guy on a dating app on the other side of the world
Scottish comedian Samantha Hannah was working on a comedy show about finding a husband when Toby Hunter came into her life. What happened next surprised them both.
'It could be catastrophic': Woman says natural supplement contained hidden painkiller drug
A Manitoba woman thought she found a miracle natural supplement, but said a hidden ingredient wreaked havoc on her health.
Young people 'tortured' if stolen vehicle operations fail, Montreal police tell MPs
One day after a Montreal police officer fired gunshots at a suspect in a stolen vehicle, senior officers were telling parliamentarians that organized crime groups are recruiting people as young as 15 in the city to steal cars so that they can be shipped overseas.
Vicious attack on a dog ends with charges for northern Ont. suspect
Police in Sault Ste. Marie charged a 22-year-old man with animal cruelty following an attack on a dog Thursday morning.
The Body Shop Canada explores sale as demand outpaces inventory: court filing
The Body Shop Canada is exploring a sale as it struggles to get its hands on enough inventory to keep up with "robust" sales after announcing it would file for creditor protection and close 33 stores.
Tropical fish stolen from Beachburg, Ont. restaurant found and returned
Ontario Provincial Police have landed a suspect following a fishy theft in Beachburg, Ont.
U.S. FAA launches investigation into unauthorized personnel in cockpit of Colorado Rockies flight to Toronto
The U.S.’s Federal Aviation Administration is investigating a video that appears to show unauthorized personnel in the cockpit of a charted Colorado Rockies flight to Toronto.