Canada has made significant progress to bring the COVID-19 pandemic under control, according to the federal government’s most recent modeling data.
Chief Public Health Officer, Dr. Theresa Tam gave the updated projections today, confirming that epidemic growth nationwide has slowed across all age groups.
The new projections place the total number of Canadians with COVID-19 by June 15th at somewhere between 97,000 and 107,000 cases. Dr. Theresa Tam said that would place the total number of deaths linked to the virus by that same date at 7,700 to 9,400 deaths.
Tam explained how core public health measures remain essential to control the epidemic, warning that lifting controls like limiting large gatherings without strengthening other public health measures like contact tracing and testing will likely cause a “drastic epidemic rebound”.
She said that outbreaks across Canada point to vulnerabilities in congregate settings, pointing to “Canada’s largest outbreak” that occurred at the Cargill meat processing plant in Alberta with 1,560 confirmed cases.
Tam said that until there is a vaccine or effective treatment, the risks associated with the spread of COVID-19 have to be balanced with the unintended social and health consequences of restrictive public health measures.