Coronavirus: What's happening in Canada and around the world on Jan. 29
CBC News | Posted: January 29, 2022 2:00 PM | Last Updated: January 30, 2022
Despite transmission peaking nationally, 'severity trends' rising in Canada, says Tam
The latest:
Canada's chief public health officer is warning COVID-19 "severity trends" are still rising despite signs the recent wave of transmissions driven by the highly transmissible Omicron variant has peaked.
"Although daily reported cases remain at record high levels and continue to underestimate the true number of infections, there are some hopeful signs of continued decline in disease transmission, nationally," Dr. Theresa Tam tweeted on Saturday.
Tam said Friday new infections have dropped significantly over the past week, pointing to test positivity rates and wastewater surveillance trends as signs Canada is now through the worst of the Omicron wave.
However, Tam said Saturday that "severity trends" such as hospitalizations, ICU admissions and deaths are trending in the wrong direction.
Hospitalizations and deaths are usually a lagging indicator, peaking a few weeks after infections, according to experts.
Experts also say hospitalizations are a more accurate barometer of the disease's impact than case counts due to limited and varying testing capacities across the country.
Tam on Saturday again encouraged Canadians to get their vaccination shots and booster if they haven't already.
Her plea comes a day after the National Advisory Committee on Immunization said in updated guidance that adolescents 12 to 17 years old who are especially vulnerable to COVID-19 should get booster shots.
What's happening across Canada
With lab-based testing capacity deeply strained and increasingly restricted, experts say true case counts are likely far higher than reported. Hospitalization data at the regional level is also evolving, with several provinces saying they will report figures that separate the number of people in hospital because of COVID-19 from those in hospital for another medical issue who also test positive for COVID-19.
For more information on what is happening in your community — including details on outbreaks, testing capacity and local restrictions — click through to the regional coverage below.
You can also read more from the Public Health Agency of Canada, which provides a detailed look at every region — including seven-day average test positivity rates — in its daily epidemiological updates.
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In British Columbia, an updated provincial health order now requires children age 12 to only have one dose of a vaccine to enter an event or setting where proof of vaccination is required.
In the Prairies, the premier of Saskatchewan is vowing to end the province's proof of vaccine policy in the "not-too-distant future," current public health orders in Manitoba were extended for at least another week and wastewater tests in Alberta suggests cases are declining in Calgary and Edmonton.
In Canada's two largest provinces, Ontario said there were 3,439 hospitalizations on Saturday, along with 56 new deaths, while the same figures in Quebec were 2,975 and 66.
In the Atlantic, COVID-19 hospitalizations and active case counts in Newfoundland and Labrador have both dipped since Friday; Nova Scotia is reporting 87 people in designated COVID-19 units; Prince Edward Island confirmed the province's 10th coronavirus death since the start of the pandemic; and schools in New Brunswick are set to reopen on Monday.
In the North, some schools in the Northwest Territories will be allowed to return to in-person classes on Monday. Meanwhile, documents obtained by CBC News showed a third of rapid tests shipped to Yukon were distributed to mines, sparking criticism.
What's happening around the world
As of Saturday, more than 370.8 million cases of COVID-19 had been reported worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins University's case-tracking tool. The reported global death toll stood at more than 5.65 million.
In the Americas, Omicron is driving the daily U.S. death toll higher than during last fall's delta wave, with deaths likely to keep rising for days or even weeks.
PHOTOS | Omicron now driving more COVID-19 deaths in U.S. than Delta:
In Europe, Russia confirmed 113,122 new daily infections, setting a record high for a ninth consecutive day.
In Asia, dozens of pet stores that sold hamsters in Hong Kong may resume business from Sunday, Hong Kong's government said, after being shuttered last week and thousands culled over coronavirus fears.
In Africa, Nigeria's vaccine rollout has slowly gained pace as public confidence increases and the government has assured citizens they will not receive expired doses.