The Public Health Agency of Canada has recently unveiled a new federal COVID-19 model that warns of a surge of test-positive cases in the country and significant spikes in individuals who could be at risk of severe health risks.
According to an announcement by Canada’s Public Health Officer, Dr. Theresa Tam, the new COVID-19 model is constructed from key indicators like hospital and ICU occupancy across the country, including the skyrocketing of cases in some regions these past few days.
The province of Alberta is one of the areas where the virus hit the hardest, with more than 1,300 documented cases on Thursday. However, the number of test-positive individuals is also rising in several other regions. “This is a crucial moment,” shared Dr. Tam.
One measure the Canadian government is looking to implement double-time is administering COVID-19 vaccine shots to still unvaccinated individuals. “We have a window of opportunity to rapidly accelerate vaccine uptake and close the protection gap in younger age groups.”
The recently announced federal model of the pandemic also highlighted the fact that the new COVID-19 cases recorded among unvaccinated people were up to 12 times higher than those in individuals who have taken their two total doses of the vaccine.
Dr. Tam stressed that the situation they are steering clear from is hospitals exceeding their capacity to take in patients needing immediate medical care. Besides reminding people to have their COVID-19 vaccines, taking note of safety protocols like social distancing and the wearing of masks could prevent this from taking place soon.
