COVID-19 data from Ontario and Quebec indicate rapid infection increases

Key Takeaways:

• On Thursday, Canada’s two largest provinces reported record high COVID-19 case counts.
• As preliminary data from the United Kingdom revealed that people with the Omicron variant are up to 70% less likely to require hospitalization than those with the Delta mutation.

In Quebec, the provincial government reported 9,397 new cases and a 28-percentage-point increase in COVID-19-related hospitalizations, for a total of 473. According to the province, six more deaths have been linked to the novel coronavirus.

In addition, an exponential increase in COVID-19 cases was reported in Montreal, where a top health official confirmed that one out of every five tests for the virus was positive.

Dr. Mylene Drouin stated that 60% of positive cases in Montreal were among people aged 18 to 44. The city’s most recent data confirms that 90% of new infections involved the Omicron variant.

“The message is that we are having intense community transmission in Montreal,” Drouin said during a press conference. “It’s exploding; it’s affecting young adults.”

Another significant increase in cases was reported Thursday in Ontario, with 5,790 new cases discovered. That figure was significantly higher than the previous single-day high of 4,812 in April.

The virus has also been blamed for seven new deaths in Canada’s most populous province. 400 people were being treated in hospitals, including 136 who had not been immunized.

NDP Leader Ryan Meili said he couldn’t understand why Saskatchewan is the only province that hasn’t taken any new steps, even though the government’s modeling predicts an increase in Omicron cases in the coming weeks.

Later, Premier Scott Moe defended the province’s decision to forego stricter restrictions due to low COVID-19 hospitalizations and manageable case numbers. However, Moe stated that his government monitors the situation daily and has not ruled out imposing additional restrictions on large gatherings next week.

British Columbia reported 2,046 new COVID-19 infections on Thursday, breaking the previous day’s record as the Omicron variant spreads. According to the province, 975 cases of the highly transmissible variant have been confirmed thus far, with more than half of them ensuing in the Vancouver Coastal Health region.

Source: CTV News

Get Nunavut and Canada’s top News, Latest news and other News of the world only at most trustable news website of Canada Nunavut post.com