“It’s clear we are in a sixth wave,” said Ontario Chief Medical Officer Dr. Kieran Moore, to reporters Monday during the first COVID-19 briefing in more than a month. The current wave, says Moore, is driven by BA.2 variant and will likely continue in mid or late May. While Moore said the province would not reinstate the indoor mask mandate at this time, he said Ontarians should be prepared to return these measures if a new variant of concern arises if the health care system is threatened. due to growing cases, or possibly during the winter months. Meanwhile, he said it is important for people to self-monitor, get tested for symptoms and get vaccinated. “We have the tools for mitigation [the wave]Said Moore.
Suitability for antivirals has expanded
Paxlovid, an antiviral drug for the treatment of COVID-19 produced by Pfizer, was approved in Canada on January 17. Paxlovid is intended for adults who have mild to moderate symptoms of COVID-19 in the first days of infection and who are at high risk of worsening serious illness and requiring hospitalization. The drug is in pill form, taken twice a day for five days. A positive PCR or rapid test for antiviral therapy is required and should begin within five days of the onset of symptoms. CLOCKS Dr. Kieran Moore talks about Ontario’s response to the sixth wave of COVID-19:
Ontario extends access to COVID-19 antiviral drugs in mid-6th wave
Ontario Chief Medical Officer of Health announces expanded suitability for COVID-19 antiviral therapies. The province will not “restore a broad mask mandate at this time,” Dr. Kieran Moore said. 1:47
Since January, this treatment and PCR test has been limited to immunocompromised adults, unvaccinated individuals 60 years of age and older, and unvaccinated individuals 50 years of age and older if they are First Nation, Inuit, or Metis or have other risk factors.
With immediate effect, the province says the following groups are eligible for antiviral testing and evaluation:
People aged 18 and over who are immunosuppressed. People aged 70 and over. People 60 years of age and older with less than three doses of the vaccine. People 18 years of age and older with less than three doses of the vaccine and at least one condition are considered dangerous.
Access to Paxlovid has been severely restricted to clinical evaluation centers and primary care providers, but the county says participating pharmacies will start distributing it this week.
Bring back the mask commands, the report says
The expanded suitability comes after an Ontario Public Health report showing COVID-19 cases, test-positive rates and hospitalizations had risen since March 21, when the county ended compulsory indoor coverage.
“The full impact of the mask lift and other measures may not yet be noticeable, given the limited suitability of PCR tests and delayed hospitalization data,” the report said.
He proposes restoring indoor coverage and extending coverage orders to high-risk environments as possible elements of a “flat” strategy to mitigate the increase in cases.
The Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kieran Moore speaks publicly for the first time in almost a month about the COVID-19 pandemic at Queen’s Park in Toronto on Monday. (Alex Lupul / CBC)
The county has set April 27 as the date it plans to eliminate all remaining restrictions on COVID-19, including coverage in long-term care homes, nursing homes, health care facilities, prisons, shelters and dormitories.
However, that date is likely to be postponed, Moore said on Monday, adding that his team is preparing a proposal for an extension to be considered by the province.
Ontario will heed the advice of top doctors on masks
Meanwhile, Health Minister Christine Eliot said Monday that officials would also follow the example of the county’s top doctors on whether or not to put on masks.
“A lot of people choose to keep wearing their masks, that’s their preference,” Eliot said.
“It simply came to our notice then [the top doctors’] guidance and if we need to be advised to return to mask use, we will. ”
An Ontario Public Health report showing COVID-19 cases, test-positive rates and hospitalizations has risen since March 21, when the county ended compulsory indoor coverage, suggests reintroducing some measures to mitigate the increase in cases. (Evan Mitsui / CBC)
The report also warns that the number of Ontario children with severe COVID-19 disease is likely to increase due to increased transmissibility of the BA.2 subtype of the virus, the lifting of public health measures and the limited suitability of vaccines and two doses of coverage. in people under 12 years.
Asked on Monday about the reintroduction of masks in schools, given the data described in the report, Moore said “we have not seen any significant threat to children’s health”.
But it is not just the risk of serious illness that is causing concern.
In a statement issued Monday, the Ontario Liberals cited figures from the Department of Health on Friday showing that one in seven children and teachers were absent from schools across the province last week.
Liberal leader John Fraser says that is why the county should immediately put masks on schools and other indoor public spaces.
“We know these are not perfect, but they are a layer of protection that will help us,” he said.
“We can not wait two or three weeks.”
NDP health critic France Gélinas agrees, saying she has heard from many public health units wishing to be re-admitted.
“[Moore] “It has the power to direct it, to make it happen in the whole province,” he said after Moore’s announcement on Monday.
“I would like to take it a step further.”
Daily cases range from 100,000 to 120,000
The BA.2 subtype is now the dominant strain in the last wave of the pandemic, the document states. The percentage of samples identified as BA.2 rose from 12.3 percent in the week of February 13 to 54 percent in the week of March 13, he said. Meanwhile, sewage monitoring shows that cases have increased from mid to late March. The scientific director of the Ontario COVID-19 Advisory Group said the latest sewage data suggests that daily numbers of cases of the virus range from 100,000 to 120,000. Last week, the county expanded its suitability for fourth doses of COVID-19 vaccine to people aged 60 and over, as well as to indigenous people and their adult household members. The fourth installments were already available to long-term care and immunocompromised residents in Ontario. This comes as Ontario reported 1,090 people in hospital with COVID-19 on Monday, up from 977 the previous day and 857 at that time last week. Of this number, 184 patients are admitted to the intensive care unit, from 173 a day earlier and 168 a week ago. Eighty-two patients are on respirators due to the virus. The county reported another 2,401 cases of COVID-19 through limited PCR testing, with 12,149 tests completed the previous day. The test positive rate is 17.6 percent. Three more virus-related deaths were also reported, bringing the total number of deaths in the province to 12,566.
