As Canada faces more active COVID-19 cases than at any other time during the pandemic, federal officials will provide updates on national response efforts on Friday.
According to CTVNews.ca’s COVID-19 tracker, today Canada has the highest number of active cases ever, with more than 371,300 active and high cases as of 4pm EST.
That is eight times more than three weeks ago, and four times the peak seen last spring. The latest increase is being driven by the highly transmittable Omicron variant.
Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos and Minister for Intergovernmental Affairs, Infrastructure and Communities Dominic LeBlanc will hold a press conference on Friday, at 11 a.m. EST. CTVNews.ca will go live.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau led the federal COVID-19 update on Wednesday, in which he announced a quadruple increase in rapid test deliveries to provinces and territories.
His government faced criticism on Thursday from Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole for not doing more to control the spread of Omicron sooner, leading to a tightening of restrictions. latest public health nationwide.
While Canada has high vaccination rates, the rate of people being hospitalized with COVID-19 is rising, raising concerns that the health care system could be overwhelmed if the virus continues to spread rapidly.
The increase has made access to COVID-19 testing “a luxury,” as Ontario Health Director Dr Kieran Moore said on Thursday. Many Canadians have been told that if they have symptoms of COVID-19, they should assume they have been infected and self-isolate.
With a file from CTV News ‘Ryan Flanagan
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