The latest on the coronavirus outbreak for March 4th.
- Canadians encouraged by public health officials to be responsible, compassionate as COVID-19 restrictions fall.
- Governments are scrapping COVID-19 isolation requirements, contrary to health expert advice.
- Saskatchewan just experienced one of its deadliest months of the pandemic.
- Explore: Ontario health minister throughout pandemic to leave politics…. Montreal Public Health urged Quebec not to impose 2nd curfew, document reveals…. Alberta ends vaccine mandate for public servants Toronto plans to hold its major festivals this year.
Federal public health officials don’t see great danger with provinces lifting restrictions
Dr. Theresa Tam said Friday that Canada has experienced an “intense apprenticeship” in terms of COVID-19 as the second anniversary of the coronavirus pandemic nears, but that the country is largely in good shape.
Canada’s chief public health officer said that the situation nationally is characterized by “a strong foundation of protection from vaccine, proven practices to reduce spread and less intense pressure on our health system.”
Several provinces have moved to relax their latest rounds of COVID-19 restrictions as the Omicron variant wave has subsided and fatigue has set in as the world enters the third year of pandemic, after the World Health Organization declared one on March 12, 2020.
“At some point, we have to accept that the virus is here to stay, both domestically and abroad for the long haul,” Dr. Howard Njoo, deputy chief public health officer, said during Friday’s briefing.
Both public health officials said Canadians should routinely perform what they call “individual risk assessments” as restrictions are lifted. Both encouraged mask-wearing where circumstances warrant.
“Regularly checking in on the local epidemiology where you are or where you are going is important for keeping up on recommendations,” Tam said.
Tam said that as long as Omicron remains the dominant variant of COVID-19 in Canada, the risk of another massive wave of infections is low other than in pockets where there are large numbers of unvaccinated. While a highly transmissible Omicron subvariant is circulating in some parts of the world, it has not been widely seen here.
Nearly 85 per cent of Canadians five years and older are considered fully vaccinated, with nearly 56 per cent of those older than 18 who are fully vaccinated having also received an additional dose of the vaccine. Those numbers increased greatly as provinces pushed for eligible Canadians to get booster shots or get their kids aged five to 11 vaccinated as the original Omicron variant emerged in Canada.
Tam stressed that Canada’s suffering due to the virus was largely not a matter of pure numbers — which on a per-capita basis have been favourable among G7 countries — but because of the “fragility of the health-care system.” As previously detailed, Canada’s number of beds ranks unfavorably compared to other OECD nations.
Tam said staying on top of COVID-19 trends will require case and wastewater surveillance, and that it should help that there are more rapid tests in supply than when Omicron first hit.
While Tam noted that a return to normal life is prudent given the recession of the Omicron wave, she also advised Canadians to assume more personal responsibility as they go about life in a society with relatively few restrictions in place.
“Regaining in-person social and economic activities while the pandemic is still ongoing and the virus is not going away means we must use all that we have learned to do this safely and make it last.”
She said there could be tensions as people more widely circulate and follow varying levels of mitigation behaviours, and she made a plea for Canadians to be compassionate and empathetic of others as that happens.
From CBC News
Will there be backlash as Manitoba eliminates pandemic protections?
Manitoba’s plan to get rid of mandatory isolation for COVID-19 patients is getting a rough ride from medical experts. Some Manitobans aren’t happy, either. Here’s the backlash against the latest plan to eliminate pandemic protections. 2:18
Manitoba’s plan to end mandatory isolation prompts scorn from medical experts, fear among the vulnerable
Manitoba’s plan to end mandatory isolation for people infected with COVID-19 on March 15 is being panned by medical experts as unscientific and has left vulnerable people and their families complaining the province is abandoning them.
On that same date, the province plans to eliminate the mandatory use of masks in indoor public places. The measures in tandem are causing stress among people most at risk of contracting COVID-19.
Dave Hanson, a Winnipegger whose immune system is compromised by a medical condition that leaves him more vulnerable to infection, described it to CBC News as “sort of being put to pasture.”
“Throughout the course of the pandemic, what’s been helpful at many points is when there are ongoing mandates of various kinds that do encourage the public as a whole to be co-operative and act as a community,” said Hanson.
On Wednesday, Premier Heather Stefanson said the elimination of pandemic protections is required in order for Manitobans to learn to live with COVID-19.
“Look, there’s risk inherent in everything,” Stefanson told reporters at the Manitoba legislature, insisting the province is still recommending Manitobans isolate at home if they’re infected.
This will just confuse people, said Dr. Philippe Lagacé-Wiens, a medical microbiologist at St. Boniface Hospital.
“The messaging that people are going to receive is ‘I don’t need to self-isolate after I test positive’ and the message that should have been sent out is the province is no longer going to be using the rule of law to enforce it,” he said Thursday in an interview.
Manitoba is not alone among jurisdictions in Canada and even more broadly in the West, where isolation requirements have been shortened considerably or scrapped altogether.
New Brunswick’s former chief medical officer of health is calling for more safeguards before that Atlantic province abandons all COVID-19 restrictions. Maintaining isolation requirements would “be prudent,” and people should have enough supports to stay home if they’re sick, Dr. Elisha Cleary told CBC’s Information Morning.
Cleary believes the province might get to the stage where people who test positive for COVID-19 don’t have to isolate, but she doesn’t think we’re at that stage yet, noting the virus has “caused a lot of disease and is still evolving.”
“Right now it would be prudent to continue to isolate so that it’s not circulating in the community,” said Cleary.
Isolation is required for other communicable diseases, such as tuberculosis, measles and mumps, she added.
Going without an isolation period is also something not recommended by the World Health Organization, per a recent question-and-answer session with Dr. Mike Ryan and Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove.
WHO technical lead Van Kerkhove said she believed it was “really dangerous right now” to drop isolation requirements.
Ryan, the UN health agency’s emergencies director, elaborated on why they believe that to be the case.
“If you’re an antigen-positive person, if you do a test and you’re antigen-positive, you are very likely to be a positive case and the PCR test is really just a confirmation and the antigen actually more so,” he said. “In fact, if you’re antigen-positive you’re very likely to be infectious and therefore you need to self-isolate.”
February was 3rd-deadliest pandemic month in Saskatchewan
COVID-19 deaths and ICU cases continue to climb in Saskatchewan, according to the province’s latest weekly pandemic report.
There were 44 more deaths reported from Feb. 20 to Feb. 26, bringing the total for the month up to that point to 143 deaths, with two more days’ worth of data still to come.
That number already makes last month the third-deadliest in the COVID-19 pandemic and is more than the mortality totals for December and January combined.
Dr. Alex Wong, a Regina infectious disease specialist, said the number of deaths reported over the latest period is very high, but he said the province’s shift to providing weekly data makes it difficult to properly assess the situation.
“It’s frustrating that we don’t have more regular updates with regards to the data and more granular data, so that we can try to have a better understanding of where we’re at,” he said.
That February put strain on the health-care system was also supported by data from the Ministry of Health, dated Feb. 19, that showed preschoolers were visiting emergency rooms at a weekly rate of 110 patients per 1,000. That was higher than the average rate — 87.5 patients per 1,000 visits — in the previous six weeks for the same age group.
What is clear is that Saskatchewan has its own unique evolution with the virus, as do several jurisdictions. It was the only province in Canada to experience its deadliest month of the pandemic in October 2021, the result in part because of loosening many restrictions early in the summer before the Delta variant landed with full impact.
In addition, the indications are that in terms of COVID-19 deaths, Ontario and Quebec suffered a greater toll in January than February during the Omicron variant wave.
As previously reported in this newsletter, January was the fourth-deadliest month of the pandemic nationally. Canada’s worst month in terms of COVID mortality were in December 2020 and January 2021, as a winter wave hit before vaccines were available to much of the population.
Like last summer, Saskatchewan was one of the first provinces out of the gate as the Omicron wave subsided to lift public health orders, doing so Monday, including a requirement to self-isolate if positive for the virus.
“There’s not been any real consideration, I think, given to how it is that we should be protecting all of those individuals in society who have every right to live their lives in ways that are safe and as low-risk as possible,” said Wong.
Today’s graphic
COVID-19 in Canada: Severe illness and outcomes
Find out more about COVID-19
For full coverage of how your province or territory is responding to COVID-19, visit your local CBC News site.
To get this newsletter daily as an email, subscribe here.
See the answers to COVID-19 questions asked by CBC viewers and readers.
Still looking for more information on the pandemic? Reach out to us at covid@cbc.ca if you have any questions.
The latest on the coronavirus outbreak for March 4th. Canadians encouraged by public health officials to be responsible, compassionate as COVID-19 restrictions fall. Governments are scrapping COVID-19 isolation requirements, contrary to health expert advice. Saskatchewan just experienced one of its deadliest months of the pandemic. Explore: Ontario health minister throughout pandemic to leave politics…. Montreal Public Health urged Quebec not to impose 2nd curfew, document reveals…. Alberta ends vaccine mandate for public servants Toronto plans to hold its major festivals this year. Official flag-bearers Ina Forrest, centre, and Greg Westlake, right, lead a Team Canada delegation during the opening ceremony at the Beijing National Stadium on Friday in China. (Carmen Mandato/Getty Images) Federal public health officials don’t see great danger with provinces lifting restrictions Dr. Theresa Tam said Friday that Canada has experienced an “intense apprenticeship” in terms of COVID-19 as the second anniversary of the coronavirus pandemic nears, but that the country is largely in good shape. Canada’s chief public health officer said that the situation nationally is characterized by “a strong foundation of protection from vaccine, proven practices to reduce spread and less intense pressure on our health system.” Several provinces have moved to relax their latest rounds of COVID-19 restrictions as the Omicron variant wave has subsided and fatigue has set in as the world enters the third year of pandemic, after the World Health Organization declared one on March 12, 2020. “At some point, we have to accept that the virus is here to stay, both domestically and abroad for the long haul,” Dr. Howard Njoo, deputy chief public health officer, said during Friday’s briefing. Both public health officials said Canadians should routinely perform what they call “individual risk assessments” as restrictions are lifted. Both encouraged mask-wearing where circumstances warrant. “Regularly checking in on the local epidemiology where you are or where you are going is important for keeping up on recommendations,” Tam said. Tam said that as long as Omicron remains the dominant variant of COVID-19 in Canada, the risk of another massive wave of infections is low other than in pockets where there are large numbers of unvaccinated. While a highly transmissible Omicron subvariant is circulating in some parts of the world, it has not been widely seen here. Nearly 85 per cent of Canadians five years and older are considered fully vaccinated, with nearly 56 per cent of those older than 18 who are fully vaccinated having also received an additional dose of the vaccine. Those numbers increased greatly as provinces pushed for eligible Canadians to get booster shots or get their kids aged five to 11 vaccinated as the original Omicron variant emerged in Canada. Tam stressed that Canada’s suffering due to the virus was largely not a matter of pure numbers — which on a per-capita basis have been favourable among G7 countries — but because of the “fragility of the health-care system.” As previously detailed, Canada’s number of beds ranks unfavorably compared to other OECD nations. Tam said staying on top of COVID-19 trends will require case and wastewater surveillance, and that it should help that there are more rapid tests in supply than when Omicron first hit. While Tam noted that a return to normal life is prudent given the recession of the Omicron wave, she also advised Canadians to assume more personal responsibility as they go about life in a society with relatively few restrictions in place. “Regaining in-person social and economic activities while the pandemic is still ongoing and the virus is not going away means we must use all that we have learned to do this safely and make it last.” She said there could be tensions as people more widely circulate and follow varying levels of mitigation behaviours, and she made a plea for Canadians to be compassionate and empathetic of others as that happens. From CBC News Will there be backlash as Manitoba eliminates pandemic protections?Manitoba’s plan to get rid of mandatory isolation for COVID-19 patients is getting a rough ride from medical experts. Some Manitobans aren’t happy, either. Here’s the backlash against the latest plan to eliminate pandemic protections. 2:18 Manitoba’s plan to end mandatory isolation prompts scorn from medical experts, fear among the vulnerable Manitoba’s plan to end mandatory isolation for people infected with COVID-19 on March 15 is being panned by medical experts as unscientific and has left vulnerable people and their families complaining the province is abandoning them. On that same date, the province plans to eliminate the mandatory use of masks in indoor public places. The measures in tandem are causing stress among people most at risk of contracting COVID-19. Dave Hanson, a Winnipegger whose immune system is compromised by a medical condition that leaves him more vulnerable to infection, described it to CBC News as “sort of being put to pasture.” “Throughout the course of the pandemic, what’s been helpful at many points is when there are ongoing mandates of various kinds that do encourage the public as a whole to be co-operative and act as a community,” said Hanson. On Wednesday, Premier Heather Stefanson said the elimination of pandemic protections is required in order for Manitobans to learn to live with COVID-19. “Look, there’s risk inherent in everything,” Stefanson told reporters at the Manitoba legislature, insisting the province is still recommending Manitobans isolate at home if they’re infected. This will just confuse people, said Dr. Philippe Lagacé-Wiens, a medical microbiologist at St. Boniface Hospital. “The messaging that people are going to receive is ‘I don’t need to self-isolate after I test positive’ and the message that should have been sent out is the province is no longer going to be using the rule of law to enforce it,” he said Thursday in an interview. Manitoba is not alone among jurisdictions in Canada and even more broadly in the West, where isolation requirements have been shortened considerably or scrapped altogether. New Brunswick’s former chief medical officer of health is calling for more safeguards before that Atlantic province abandons all COVID-19 restrictions. Maintaining isolation requirements would “be prudent,” and people should have enough supports to stay home if they’re sick, Dr. Elisha Cleary told CBC’s Information Morning. Cleary believes the province might get to the stage where people who test positive for COVID-19 don’t have to isolate, but she doesn’t think we’re at that stage yet, noting the virus has “caused a lot of disease and is still evolving.” “Right now it would be prudent to continue to isolate so that it’s not circulating in the community,” said Cleary. Isolation is required for other communicable diseases, such as tuberculosis, measles and mumps, she added. Going without an isolation period is also something not recommended by the World Health Organization, per a recent question-and-answer session with Dr. Mike Ryan and Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove. WHO technical lead Van Kerkhove said she believed it was “really dangerous right now” to drop isolation requirements. Ryan, the UN health agency’s emergencies director, elaborated on why they believe that to be the case. “If you’re an antigen-positive person, if you do a test and you’re antigen-positive, you are very likely to be a positive case and the PCR test is really just a confirmation and the antigen actually more so,” he said. “In fact, if you’re antigen-positive you’re very likely to be infectious and therefore you need to self-isolate.” February was 3rd-deadliest pandemic month in Saskatchewan COVID-19 deaths and ICU cases continue to climb in Saskatchewan, according to the province’s latest weekly pandemic report. There were 44 more deaths reported from Feb. 20 to Feb. 26, bringing the total for the month up to that point to 143 deaths, with two more days’ worth of data still to come. That number already makes last month the third-deadliest in the COVID-19 pandemic and is more than the mortality totals for December and January combined. Dr. Alex Wong, a Regina infectious disease specialist, said the number of deaths reported over the latest period is very high, but he said the province’s shift to providing weekly data makes it difficult to properly assess the situation. “It’s frustrating that we don’t have more regular updates with regards to the data and more granular data, so that we can try to have a better understanding of where we’re at,” he said. That February put strain on the health-care system was also supported by data from the Ministry of Health, dated Feb. 19, that showed preschoolers were visiting emergency rooms at a weekly rate of 110 patients per 1,000. That was higher than the average rate — 87.5 patients per 1,000 visits — in the previous six weeks for the same age group. What is clear is that Saskatchewan has its own unique evolution with the virus, as do several jurisdictions. It was the only province in Canada to experience its deadliest month of the pandemic in October 2021, the result in part because of loosening many restrictions early in the summer before the Delta variant landed with full impact. In addition, the indications are that in terms of COVID-19 deaths, Ontario and Quebec suffered a greater toll in January than February during the Omicron variant wave. As previously reported in this newsletter, January was the fourth-deadliest month of the pandemic nationally. Canada’s worst month in terms of COVID mortality were in December 2020 and January 2021, as a winter wave hit before vaccines were available to much of the population. Like last summer, Saskatchewan was one of the first provinces out of the gate as the Omicron wave subsided to lift public health orders, doing so Monday, including a requirement to self-isolate if positive for the virus. “There’s not been any real consideration, I think, given to how it is that we should be protecting all of those individuals in society who have every right to live their lives in ways that are safe and as low-risk as possible,” said Wong. Today’s graphic COVID-19 in Canada: Severe illness and outcomes Find out more about COVID-19 For full coverage of how your province or territory is responding to COVID-19, visit your local CBC News site. To get this newsletter daily as an email, subscribe here. See the answers to COVID-19 questions asked by CBC viewers and readers. Still looking for more information on the pandemic? Reach out to us at covid@cbc.ca if you have any questions.