Canada is 'well and truly over the peak of the 3rd wave,' Dr. Tam says

Canada's chief public health officer said today that strict public health measures and a ramped-up vaccination campaign have pushed the national COVID-19 case count to its lowest level in weeks.In much of the country, the pandemic outlook is improving.

Dr. Theresa Tam said the distribution of some 25 million vaccine doses has resulted in a "strong and steady decline" in cases, with totals less than halfwhat they were during the peak of the third wave in mid-April.

Roughly 62 per cent of all adults have nowhad at least one dose of a vaccine, she said, andas a result, "things have taken agreat turn for the better."

Over the past week, Tam said,fewer than 3,400 new infections were being reported daily down from a rate of nearly 9,000 reported new infections each day just six weeks ago.

The national "rT" themetric that tracks the average number of peoplea single infected person will pass the virus on to has been trending below 1 for more than a month, which means the pandemic is shrinking in Canadaand COVID-19 is "out of a growth pattern in the most heavily affected areas," Tam said.

The number of people experiencing severe and critical illness is also decreasing, though at a slower pace, she said.

The average number of patients with COVID-19 being treated in hospital each day has dropped by 34 per cent since the April peak.But where infection rates are still very high particularlyinManitoba hospitalization rates are still at a crisis point.

"Our efforts have got us well and truly over the peak of the third wave nationally and heading for a much better summer, if we can stay the course," Tam said.

It's too soon to relax, says Tam

Pointing to new federal modelling data, Tam said the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) expects the third wave to continue to decline "as long as we maintain current measures and don't increase in-person contact rates across the community."

While there are freshreasons for optimism, Tam cautioned provinces againstre-opening too quickly especially indoor spaces.

"While this forecast is very encouraging, it reaffirms that now is not the time to relax our measures. If measures are relaxed, increasing the number of community-wide in-personscontacts, resurgence is likely," she said.

WATCH:Dr. Tam urges caution as some provinces begin to reopen

Dr. Tam urges caution as some provinces begin to reopen

3 years ago

Duration 1:23

Canada's chief public health officer spoke with reporters during the regular Friday pandemic briefing.

Tam said Canada must follow the lead of other jurisdictions and only liftrestrictions in a "controlled and gradual way" to avoid a fourth wave.

British leaders kept the U.K. in a national lockdown for weeksafter COVID-19 cases declined dramatically and vaccination rates escalated. That countrysustained themost restrictivemeasures until case rates were several times lower than they currently are in Canada,Tam said.

Tam said British public health restrictions have started torelax"slowly and cautiously" only recently,now that 70 per cent of U.K. adults have had at least one shot and 45 per cent are fully immunized.

Canada is nowhere near that level of vaccine coverage; just five per cent of all Canadians havereceived the two required doses.

Tam repeated her recommendationthat provincesand territoriesonly begin to lift the most restrictive public health measures, such asstay-at-home orders, once 75 per cent of all people over the age of 12 have had a shot and 20 per cent havehad a second dose.

At that level of protection, Canadians can start to gather in small outdoor groups, dine on restaurant patios and safely enjoy outdoor activities, she said.

Tam said early indicators suggestthat a single dose of a COVID-19 vaccine does offermeaningful protection. There have been few cases reported in people who have received at least one doseand fewerstill among those who have received two doses, she said.

Of the20.7 millionCanadians who have received at least one dose, just 6,817 of those vaccine recipients have contracted the virus 14 days after vaccination. Tam said that, for maximum protection, Canadians must get thesecond "immunity-boosting" dose.