'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
$500K-worth of elvers seized at Toronto airport
Fishery and border service officers seized more than 100 kilograms of unauthorized elvers at the Toronto Pearson International Airport on Wednesday.
Member of Israel's War Cabinet says he'll quit June 8 unless there's new war plan
Benny Gantz, a centrist member of Israel’s three-member War Cabinet, threatened on Saturday to resign from the government if it doesn't adopt a new plan in three weeks' time for the war in Gaza.
Serial sexual offender linked to unsolved 1970s homicides of four Calgary girls, women
An investigation into unsolved historical homicides from the 1970s has linked the deaths of two girls and two young women in and around Calgary to a now-deceased serial offender.
Woman with liver failure rejected for a transplant after medical review highlights alcohol use
For nearly three months, Amanda Huska has been in an Ontario hospital, part of it on life support, because of severe liver failure. Her history of alcohol use is getting in the way of her only potential treatment: a liver transplant.
To plant or not to plant? Gardening tips for May long weekend
May long weekend is finally here, and with the extra time off you may be getting the itch to head out to your garden and plant. However, the old debate whether you should plant now, or wait, is still ever-present.
Fort McMurray evacuees welcomed home Saturday as crews make progress on wildfire
Residents of Fort of McMurray who were displaced over wildfire concerns were told to return home Saturday.
Scottie Scheffler, from the course to jail and back: What to know about his PGA Championship arrest
Two-time Masters champion Scottie Scheffler was arrested after police say he dragged an officer while trying to get around the scene of a fatal accident Friday ahead of the second round of the PGA Championship.
B.C. man 'attacked suddenly' by adult grizzly near Alberta boundary: RCMP
A B.C. man is recovering from multiple injuries after he was "attacked suddenly" by an adult grizzly bear near Elkford Thursday afternoon.
Israel-Hamas war protesters temporarily take over building on University of Chicago campus
A group protesting the war in Gaza and demanding that the University of Chicago divest from companies doing business with Israel temporarily took over a building on the school's campus.