“Around the world, countries are facing a very serious third wave of this pandemic,” Trudeau said during a press conference Tuesday. “And right now, so is Canada.”
The prime minister reiterated the need to continue to follow public health measures, including staying at home when possible to “flatten the curve.”
Chief public health officer Theresa Tam said contracting COVID-19, the disease the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus causes, is not limited to a particular age group.
“We are seeing a greater number of younger adults with COVID-19 being treated in the hospital,” she said. “This is a reminder that COVID-19 can impact people of all ages, and severe illness can occur at any age.”
She said that the variants of concerns are contributing to the resurgence.
“The B117 variant is known to cause more severe illness and increase the risk of death,” She said. “Of the over 15,000 variants of concern cases reported to date across Canada, the B117 variant continues to account for over 90 percent and has likely replaced the original virus in some locations.”
“A significant increase in the number of cases of the P1 variant is also cause for concern,” she added.
She said the P1 variant has resulted in cases spiking from 460 cases a week ago to the current 857 cases, with the majority of the cases reported from British Columbia and Ontario.
Trudeau said he will speak with Premier Doug Ford on Ontario’s surging COVID-19 cases and vaccination plan later Tuesday, followed by all provinces and territorial premiers Wednesday about their efforts to contain the spread.
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