‘Omicron Is Not Going On Vacation,’ Warns Ontario’s Top Physician As Number Of COVID-19 Cases Rises To New Heights

Ontario faces exponential growth in the number of new COVID-19 cases and is on track to see more per day than at any other point in the pandemic, the province’s top doctor said Tuesday.

“Hospitalizations have increased by nine percent in the last week, and while ICU occupancy remains stable, we anticipate that in the coming days and weeks we will begin to see a greater impact from Omicron on hospitalizations and our units of intensive care, “said Dr. Kieran Moore during his weekly press conference.

“Preliminary evidence indicates that Omicron is four to eight times more transmissible than the Delta variant and, as of last week, Omicron has become the predominant strain in Ontario.”

So far, no one who has been infected with the rapidly spreading variant of the coronavirus has been admitted to the intensive care unit of an Ontario hospital. The province reported 3,453 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, and on Monday it administered more than 206,000 doses of vaccines.

Moore’s update came the day after the province opened booster dose eligibility to anyone 18 years of age or older, provided it has been at least three months since their last vaccination.

“We are doing everything we can to try to have as many immunizers available to Ontarians as possible,” Moore told reporters, when asked about those who could not book an appointment on Monday.

Ontario cut capacity for indoor public settings to 50 percent on Sunday and limited informal indoor gatherings to a maximum of 10 people in an effort to curb the spread of Omicron and protect hospitals from the worst of the increase.

Moore urged Ontarians to cut back and limit their Christmas gatherings, as the province also faces a variant-driven spike in COVID-19 testing demands.

“Everyone has been asked to sacrifice so much in the last 20 months,” he acknowledged, “but Omicron will not take a vacation.”

The medical director added that Ontario is in a better position than it was at this time last year, given the launch of the vaccine in Canada and emerging evidence that three doses are effective in preventing serious disease outcomes.

“We will give you the vaccine,” he said.

“It may not be at the exact time you would like, but we are doing our best at a very difficult time.”