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Dr. Eileen de Villa, Toronto’s medical officer of health, said Friday that public health officials increasingly believe that COVID-19 will become endemic and there will be a level of infection that Torontonians will have to learn from. to live.
“Increasingly, public health officials around the world are recognizing that given the current circumstances and the presence of variants like Omicron and the significant transmissibility they bring with them, we are likely to find ourselves in a situation where we learn how to live with COVID,” she said.
She said public health authorities could begin to manage COVID-19 like the spread of the flu each winter.
“Some flu seasons are worse than others. We know that has an impact on our healthcare system, and yes, it unfortunately makes a number of people sick, and yes, unfortunately, some people lose their lives,” she said.
“However, we have treatments available, we have vaccines available to protect us. And we are finding ways to balance other life activities with the control measures that are in place to better mitigate the negative impacts associated with influenza.”
De Villa made the remarks when answering a question at a press conference on similar comments made by Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Kieran Moore, on Thursday. He said that with the added protection of vaccines, especially with third doses, people will have to “learn to live with this virus”.
“Faced with Omicron, I absolutely think we have to start understanding that we have to learn to live with this virus and we have let our lives be controlled for the last two years in great fear and now we are going to have to change some of that way of thinking,” Moore said.
WATCH | Ontario’s top doctor says people need to learn to live with the virus:
Dr. Kieran Moore said Thursday that Canadians have lived with great fear about COVID-19, but that way of thinking is going to have to change. 0:19
Indications suggest the spread of COVID-19 is decreasing: De Villa
There were 575 people in hospital and 93 people in intensive care due to COVID-19 in Toronto on Friday, according to De Villa.
She said the city had seen a decrease in the seven-day average of COVID-19 cases from 1,414 cases on January 19 to 871 cases on January 25, and the COVID-19 test positivity rate had also fell from 20.3 percent to 16.6 percent at the end of last week.
Those numbers aren’t fully representative given the province has dramatically restricted access to publicly funded PCR testing, but de Villa said there are other indications the spread of the virus is slowing, such as a drop. the number of active outbreaks in institutions. and gathering parameters.
Toronto will also begin publishing wastewater monitoring data about COVID-19 to the public, which can help illustrate the spread of the virus without the need for testing. A wastewater data report will be released every Wednesday, according to De Villa.
The latest analysis showed that a recent drop in COVID-19 levels detected at Toronto’s wastewater treatment plants “now shows signs of slowing or plateauing,” De Villa said.
“Taken together, these are certainly encouraging signs.”
Reopening of Toronto Recreation Services
Ontario will start to soften COVID-19 public health restrictions this Monday, with a plan to lift most of the remaining measures by mid-March.
Toronto Mayor John Tory said community recreation facilities for home programs and rentals will reopen Monday, including community recreation centers and arenas, fitness centers and classes, swimming pools indoor rinks, indoor rinks, and arts and sports programs.
Capacity restrictions of 50% will be put in place and proof of vaccination will be required for those aged 12 and over.
Conservatories at Allan Gardens and Centennial Park will also reopen to the public on Monday, and Riverdale Farm and High Park Zoo will continue to be open with capacity limits in place, he said.
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Sources 2/ https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/toronto-covid-1.6331290 The mention sources can contact us to remove/changing this article |
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