National Post (National Edition)
New COVID-19 variants spark warning
Vaccines may not keep new surge at bay
OTTAWA • New variants of COVID-19 could swiftly erase progress Canada has made reducing the spread of the virus and vaccinations won't rise quickly enough to stop them, government officials warned Friday.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the new variants of the virus appear to spread more rapidly and Canadians can not let their guard down after months of sacrifice.
“We're seeing fewer deaths, fewer hospitalizations and that's a good thing,” he said. “At the same time there is a very real concern about what the variants can do.”
Public health labs in Canada have detected several versions of the virus that were first identified overseas including variants from the U.K., Brazil and South Africa.
The U.K. variant appears to spread more rapidly and when it was first found in Britain it took just a matter of weeks before it became the dominant strain in the country. It is believed to be the major factor behind a rapidly growing outbreak in Newfoundland that has delayed the province's election and is responsible for an outbreak in a long-term care home in Barrie, Ont., which claimed 70 lives.
Trudeau spoke with provincial premiers Thursday evening and urged caution on reopening plans so Canada doesn't see rapid spread.
“We need to make sure that even as provinces look at loosening up certain restrictions that other restrictions are kept and that there is an ability to both respond quickly when variants appear, and also an ability to use rapid tests.”
Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada's chief public health officer, released updated data on Friday that showed cases have been dropping for several weeks. A month ago, Canada had been seeing as many as 8,000 cases a day, but that number has now dropped to below 3,000.
The number of deaths has also fallen, but Tam warned that the new variants have been found right across the country.
“The rate of increase has slowed over the past several weeks at the same time COVID variants of concerns have emerged and now appear in ten provinces,” she said.
She added that in five of those provinces the variants appear to be spreading in the community and Canada simply won't have enough people vaccinated for some time.
Tam said much is still unknown about how the variants might spread in Canada, but in a worstcase scenario if the variants spread widely and provincial governments reduce public health measures Canada could face 20,000 cases per day by April.
After a month when vaccine deliveries slowed to a trickle, numbers vaulted back up again this week and are set to continue to rise through the spring. Just over 400,000 Pfizer vaccines arrived in Canada this week and that pace is set to continue until the end of March, when they are forecast to rise even further.
Tam said until vaccines are more widely available provinces should be cautious when loosening restrictions and individual Canadians should continue wearing masks.
“We're still in a period where the supply of vaccines is just escalating, so for the next months, we're not going to have a lot of people vaccinated.”
Trudeau said he discussed vaccine deliveries with premiers and they assured him they were ready to respond to the increased deliveries.
“I have been reassured many times by the provinces that they have that well in hand. But, we will of course, stand ready to work with them on making sure that it's done in the best possible way.”
The prime minister also met virtually with other G7 world leaders Friday morning, where he announced an additional $75 million to an international fund to ensure access to tests, treatment and vaccines in the developing world. G7 leaders also called for more funding to ensure developing countries are vaccinated. Canada recently announced plans to take vaccines from the COVAX facility, an international body that pools orders of vaccines with wealthy nations and developing ones.
Canada has a right to vaccines under the formula, but many wealthy nations chose not to access their share of vaccines through the facility to improve access to the developing world.
Trudeau said there is still more work to be done here, but said when the Canadians who most need the vaccine have received their shots, the government can look to help frontline workers and the elderly in developing countries.
“Absolutely, once we vaccinated the most vulnerable, we should also look at the most vulnerable around the world.”
As the pandemic drags on, Trudeau also announced an extension to related benefits. The Canada Recovery Benefit, will be extended to allow up to 38 weeks of benefits, up from 26 weeks when it was first announced last fall. That benefit is for people who have lost their job due to the virus and replaced the CERB program last fall.
The government is also extending its sick leave program, allowing people to receive up to four weeks of payments if they have to quarantine or become ill.