Canada is far from flattening the COVID-19 curve, and the severity of the pandemic has now surpassed the peak of infections during the first wave of the national health crisis, according to new national modelling.
This forecast is prompting Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam to say there’s “urgency” to get the situation under control, and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to resume his Rideau Cottage addresses.
“I don’t want to be here this morning, you don’t want me to be here this morning, but here we are again. The cases across the country are spiking massively,” Trudeau said Friday.
“We’re really at risk of seeing caseloads go up and hospitals get overwhelmed, and more loved ones dying. So we need to do everything we can, right now, to slow the spread of COVID-19, to stop this spike in its tracks,” he continued.
The grim new projections show that if people increase their contacts — such as gathering for Christmas — the country could see upwards of 60,000 new daily cases in December.
New projections released on Friday show that, in the short term, Canada is projected to hit between 366,500 to 378,600 total cases, and between 11,870 to 12,120 deaths by November 30.