Canadian hotspots could see "big resurgence" in coronavirus cases

Sep 25 2020, 5:03 pm

Canadian hotspots could see a “big resurgence” in COVID-19 cases if people continue to not follow public health protocols.

On Friday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Canada’s top health officials said that the country is continuing to see an increase in daily case counts, especially in Ontario and Quebec.

There is also a rise in hospitalizations in these provinces.

Dr. Howard Njoo, the deputy chief public health officer, said that other provinces to watch out for are BC and Saskatchewan.

“This is a problem because it can overwhelm public health and resources,” he said.

“Unless we work together now to slow the spread of the virus we will face a big resurgence in areas currently experiencing big COVID-19 activity.”

But Njoo emphasized there is a chance “if we all act together now” to slow the spread of the virus and avoid the large resurgence.

“Local public health authorities can’t do it alone; each of us must take action and must recommit to the public health protocols.”

Ontario has reported over 400 cases six times in the last eight days, and Quebec just reported over 600 cases in one day.

Trudeau also announced that Canada is signing a new agreement with AstraZeneca to procure up to 20 million doses of its COVID‑19 vaccine candidate.

This agreement adds to those already reached with Sanofi and GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson & Johnson, Novavax, Pfizer, and Moderna, which were made last month.

Canada will also be participating in the COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access (COVAX) Facility, “a global procurement mechanism that will help deliver fair, equitable, and timely access to COVID-19 vaccines.”

Trudeau said his government will commit around $220 million to the facility to procure up to 15 million vaccine doses for Canadians. An additional $220 million will be channelled through the COVAX Advance Market Commitment to purchase doses for low- and middle-income countries.

“We cannot beat this virus in Canada unless we end it everywhere,” Trudeau said.

In Canada, there is a total of 149,094 cases, with 128,708 recovered and 9,249 reported deaths.

Clarrie FeinsteinClarrie Feinstein

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