Canada’s chief public health officer said the Omicron variant is increasingly responsible for rising case counts.
During a federal COVID-19 briefing on Wednesday, Dr. Theresa Tam said in less than a week, we’ve seen a “rapid acceleration” of epidemic activity in locations across the country.
There have been more than 2360 confirmed Omicron cases so far.
“Modelling shows that by the beginning of January, we could have very high numbers of cases which underscore the need to act urgently now to reduce the acceleration,” Tam said.
During the last week, an average of 1,500 people were treated for COVID-19 in Canadian hospitals with 17 deaths daily.
Tam said current trends may be a lagging impact of increased Delta activity, the rapid increase in Omicron cases is expected to further impact trends even if it turns out to be less severe.
“We’re especially worried about the potential impact of a sudden and strong surge on the healthcare system. We’re urging all Canadians to do what they can to help mitigate this,” Tam said.
Tam said this variant spreads extremely quickly meaning a situation can quickly get out of hand.
She said we can all help by keeping gatherings small and getting booster doses as soon as they are available.
More than 7 million Canadians who have not been vaccinated are eligible for their first and second doses.
