As Canadians prepare to gather for the upcoming holiday season, federal officials are urging people to limit the number of people they see to minimize the risk of spreading the Omicron variant of COVID-19.
Canadians should “reduce contacts as much as possible” right now, said Dr. Howard Njoo, deputy chief public health officer of Canada, speaking in French at a press conference Friday.
“The principle, is we’re saying to all Canadians to really limit the number of contacts, if it’s possible,” he said. “Perhaps, limit your contacts to members of your household. That can apply to trips, even outside of your province.”
The federal government has re-introduced mandatory PCR testing for everyone arriving in Canada – even if they were just on a very short trip over the border.
Njoo also said that issues related to interprovincial travel were being discussed by the federal and provincial governments.
Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam said that Canadians shouldn’t just rely on vaccines for protection, and take additional measures to protect themselves in the coming weeks.
“No vaccine is perfect and the possibility of reduced protection against Omicron further emphasizes the need for multiple layers of protection,” she said.
“I’m urging Canadians across the country to please carefully consider and adjust your holiday plans to minimize risks and maximize layers and quality of protection for you and yours.”
Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos noted that two doses of vaccine appear to provide less protection against Omicron than they did for previous variants and urged people to be careful.
Speaking to Global News earlier this week, Dr. Allison McGeer, an infectious diseases physician and senior clinician scientist at Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute in Toronto, also warned against relying on two doses of vaccine for protection against Omicron.
“We’re back to where we were before vaccines,” she said. “With Omicron, the vaccine, while it still protects you pretty well against more severe disease, does not protect nearly so well against just getting infected and transmitting to other people.”
She recommended getting booster doses as soon as possible if you can, and taking additional precautions if you choose to gather with others.
She suggests keeping gatherings as small as possible, as each additional person presents additional risk, and taking rapid tests before your event.
Wearing masks and ensuring good ventilation by opening windows can help as well, Njoo and Tam said.
Canada reported nearly 7,000 new cases of COVID-19 on Dec. 16, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada.
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