COVID-19: ‘Difficult’ week ahead as Ontario battles 6th wave, chief medical officer says

Ontario hospitals are about to enter a “difficult” week according to the province’s Chief Medical Officer of Health with the sixth wave of COVID-19 projected to send more people to hospital and intensive care.

In an interview with Global News, Dr. Kieran Moore said the B.A.2 variant of the virus “continues to circulate at a high level” and could take several weeks to subside.

“We drew the epidemic curve, the complete wave and anticipate June 11^th to be the very end of the tail of that wave,”  Moore told Global News on Friday.

According to Moore’s analysis of wastewater and PCR test positivity data, the “absolute peak” of the sixth wave — at a community  level — happened on April 10, but the peak of hospital admission could come next week, resulting in hundreds of new admissions.

“We anticipate a potential peak next week, sadly, of 240 Ontarians being in our intensive care unit,” Moore said. “A peak of around 2,000 Ontarians being in our hospital.”

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“I just want to acknowledge it will another rough week,” Moore said, adding that the surge could result in patients being moved between hospitals to reduce the strain on health-care settings.

“Especially in smaller hospitals, northern regions that don’t have a lot of health resource capacity within the community.”

The provincial projections led to an extension of the mandatory masking policies in high risk settings such as hospitals, congregant care settings and transit until June 11^th — an additional 45 days from when they were set to expire on Apr. 27.

What is not changing, however, is the masking policy in schools and other public settings, which will remain an option for those who choose to wear them but won’t be mandatory.

Moore also said additional public health measures, such as economic or social restrictions, are not part of the province’s plans to manage the sixth wave and the government will instead rely on vaccinations and oral medications to reduce the severity of the virus.

“Absolutely do not see that on our radar whatsoever as we learn to live with this virus,” Moore said.