'COVID-19 continues to be with us': Waterloo Region shifting pandemic response as restrictions lift
Officials in Waterloo Region held their final scheduled COVID-19 update on Friday as the area shifts its response to the pandemic.
The area’s medical officer of health, Dr. Hsiu-Li Wang, said the region is transitioning to a new way of managing COVID-19, but it doesn’t mean the pandemic is over.
“COVID-19 continues to be with us and will likely present future challenges,” Dr. Wang said Friday. “We can help our community heal and better weather future challenges by continuing to work together as we have to date.”
Regional officials have held regular COVID-19 updates for about two years. Dr. Wang said they may hold briefings in the future, if needed.
Starting Monday, nearly all COVID-19 restrictions in the province will lift, including mask mandates in most indoor settings. Masks will still be required in health-care settings, long-term care homes and on public transit.
Dr. Wang encouraged people to stay up-to-date on vaccines, stay home when sick, optimizing indoor ventilation and wearing masks in high-risk settings.
“I also recommend, as we transition from the winter respiratory season to spring and summer, that we ease our personal protective measures and resume our activities in a gradual manner,” Dr. Wang said.
COVID-19 indicators are much lower than they were at the peak of the Omicron wave, Dr. Wang said, but they have started to plateau.
“Omicron continues to circulate,” Dr. Wang said.
She added there may be intermittent COVID-19 waves in the future, but said residents and health-care settings now have more tools and knowledge about how to handle these waves.
Outbreaks in high-risk settings are considered low and stable.
Wastewater data up until March 13 shows the BA.1 subvariant of COVID-19 is still the primary subvariant in Waterloo Region, with a moderate amount of BA.2. Provincial health officials have said the more-transmissible BA.2 subvariant could soon be the dominant variant in Ontario. The Ontario Science Table released modelling data on Thursday, saying hospitalizations and other indicators will likely rise over the next few weeks as restrictions lift.
COVID-19 risk depends on the number of close contacts, vaccination status, and potential spread of the BA.2 subvariant, Dr. Wang said.
Residents are encouraged to get a booster shot even if they have already been infected with COVID-19.
The region has organized vaccine clinics at local schools to encourage vaccination in youth.
The mobile vaccine bus will also return in April, bringing vaccines to community members to increase accessibility.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
First court appearance for boy and girl charged in death of Halifax 16-year-old
A girl and a boy, both 14 years old, made their first appearance today in a Halifax courtroom, where they each face a second-degree murder charge in the stabbing death of a 16-year-old high school student.