Canada is in 6th wave of COVID-19, Dr. Theresa Tam says

Canada is in a sixth wave of COVID-19, Canada’s top doctor has confirmed.

The latest rise in cases across the country is fuelled by the BA.2 subvariant of Omicron, Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam said on Tuesday.

“It depends on the location, but yes, we can say we are experiencing a sixth wave in Canada, generally speaking,” Tam said, speaking to reporters.

“There has been a rise in COVID-19 activity everywhere.”

COVID-19 has been resurging across Canada, Tam said, despite cases being undercounted due to the limited PCR testing in most provinces. There are just shy of 200,000 active cases across the country right now, according to the government’s figures.

Daily average cases counts increased by 28 per cent nationally during the week leading up to March 31, PHAC said, and community wastewater has continued to signal a rising trend.

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Most worryingly, hospitalizations have started to increase, too, Tam said. According to Health Canada’s website, the total number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients increased from more than 4,200 to more than 5,100 during the first week of April.

During that same period, the number of COVID cases in ICU beds stayed roughly the same — from 374 to 365 — while the number of COVID patients on ventilators increased from 155 to 173.

While it’s true that mRNA vaccines become less effective at preventing infection over time, two doses are still generally effective at keeping people from getting hospitalized or worse. What’s even better, Tam said, is a booster. She noted if you’re boosted, your vaccinations become more than 90 per cent effective at keeping you out of the hospital.

Tam urged Canadians to get their boosters — if not for themselves, then for others.

“Getting a booster dose doesn’t just protect you against severe illness, it also provides a level of protection against infection, which in turn helps to reduce transmission.”