Federal public health authorities said Friday that it’s time for Canadians to evaluate their own risks relating to COVID-19 and to make it a personal habit, as the country sees the return of more social and economic activities.
“Now with a strong foundation of protection from vaccines, proven practices to reduce spread, and less intense pressure on our health system, we need to turn our focus to easing societal disruption. But regaining in-person social and economic activities while the pandemic is still ongoing and the virus is not going away means we must use all that we have learned to do this safely and make it last,” Tam said.
“With March break coming up, there will be more opportunities for gatherings, travel, and activities. Going forward, individual risk assessments can become another one of our good habits, as important and routine as checking the weather to decide what activities are best to do and what essentials to bring with us.”
Njoo said people need to accept that “the virus is here to stay both domestically and abroad for the long haul now, or at least for some time,” though Canada is reaching a stage where “the mortality rates are becoming manageable and having a lesser effect on our health-care systems.”
The national weekly COVID-19 case counts have dropped by 4.5 percent compared to the previous week, and average daily numbers of people admitted to hospitals and ICUs with COVID-19 have also declined by over 15 percent, he said.
Njoo noted that the epidemiological situation is different across the country, with some jurisdictions reporting increasing case counts, though it is expected due to the easing of public health restrictions.
When asked to comment on Quebec and other provinces’ plan to lift mask mandates, Njoo said mask-wearing remains a “well-tested ... personal protective practice” but is now an issue of “personal choice under one’s individual risk assessment” rather than a mandatory requirement.
Njoo said the official advice for both domestic and international travel is changing as well.
“We need to continuously monitor [the] epidemiological situation both here in Canada and abroad. But Canada has changed its advice regarding travel,” he said.
“For all Canadians, it used to be ‘avoid all non-essential travel abroad,’ but now it’s more of a recommendation. I would take a close look at where you intend to go abroad and make your decision on that basis. So again, it’s a matter of performing your own individual risk assessment.”
