TAM HOPEFUL ON VACCINES.
`A VERY GOOD WEEK'
Several provinces were preparing to loosen COVID-19 restrictions on Sunday, as Canada's chief public health officer expressed optimism over vaccines ahead of the one-year anniversary of the COVID-19 crisis.
The World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic last March 11, and Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam said it's been a difficult 12 months marked by hardship and sacrifice.
“Yet, as the months have gone by, I have also witnessed the remarkable courage, strength, and generosity demonstrated by Canadians,” she wrote in a statement.
“Through it all, it is the incredible support that Canadians have shown for one another that has impressed me the most.”
Tam expressed optimism that brighter days were coming, thanks to the recent approvals of the Johnson & Johnson and Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines.
“This week has been a very good week for Canada's COVID-19 vaccination programs,” she wrote.
The anniversary comes as all provinces are expanding their mass vaccination programs and some are loosening restrictions aimed at limiting the spread of the virus.
Quebec, Ontario and New Brunswick are among the provinces preparing to lift restrictions on Monday after weeks of stable or declining cases.
A stay-at-home order in Ontario's Toronto, Peel and North Bay regions will lift on Monday, while five Quebec regions, including Quebec City, will be downgraded from red to orange on the province's colour-coded regional alert system.
All of New Brunswick will transition to the less-restrictive “yellow” alert level Sunday at midnight, meaning residents can expand their contacts from 10 to 15 people and team sports activities may resume.
Canada's two biggest cities will remain under fairly strict restrictions, however.
Toronto — and neighbouring Peel Region — will enter the “grey lockdown” category, which will allow more retailers to open, with restrictions, but leaves gyms, personal care services and indoor restaurant dining closed.
The greater Montreal region remains a red zone, which means an 8 p.m. curfew is still in effect.
Tam said the addition of the two new vaccines will help Canadians get immunized faster and help ease the worries surrounding supply disruptions or setbacks.