“Honestly, it’s scary to see cases growing at home and around the world, day in and day out,” Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told a news conference in Ottawa on Friday, urging Canadians to follow instructions. health while vaccines are being carried out across the country.
“Quantities for both the Pfizer vaccine and the Moderna vaccine will increase in February,” he said. “Remember that Canada has the most vaccines per capita in the world, which means that by September, we will have enough vaccines for every Canadian who wants one.”
Some provincial leaders said federal authorities have not yet administered enough doses to meet the demand for vaccinations for priority groups, such as health workers and long-term care residents.
Vaccination anxiety is emerging as Canada’s second pandemic wave severely affects hospitals, with hospitalizations now outpacing hospitalizations during the first wave.
According to the Canadian Public Health Agency, the country’s 7-day average for new daily cases is about 7,600. There are currently more than 4,300 people hospitalized and more than 800 critically ill patients – a record number.
The provinces are stuck in the middle of the waves
Canada is experiencing post-holiday growth, even though most Canadians have been told not to gather with anyone outside their household for the holidays.
Ontario, Canada’s most populous province, has warned that its hospital system is in a state of disruption and it may soon become necessary to transfer patients from region to region as beds fill up.
“It’s going to be a wake-up call, a real wake-up call,” Ontario Prime Minister Doug Ford told a news conference on Friday.
And Ontario could be next, Ford suggested, saying people must “stay home to save lives.”
“If these basic measures continue to be ignored, the consequences will be more serious. The closure will not end at the end of January and we will have to consider more extreme measures,” he said.
The province of Manitoba, like most other Canadian provinces, extended its closure for two weeks on Friday, citing 355 new Covid-19 cases directly related to holiday gatherings. Officials said the positive cases could have infected more than 1,900 people, with some saying they had attended more than two dozen meetings.
For the first time during this pandemic, Canadian health officials in many provinces are beginning to deplete the growing capacity of hospitals, especially in Ontario piles to create and hire more ICU beds.
“Today’s numbers are, to be honest, scary. It’s going the wrong way,” Dr. Barbara Yaffe, Ontario’s associate medical officer, told a news conference Friday as Ontario shot down one. record day for new cases.
“We have more and more people hospitalized, more and more people on ventilators. Hospitals are starting to reduce operations and other important procedures that require intensive care. We have more and more outbreaks in the care of congregations, especially long-term care. “We have high rates of positivity, even in children now,” she said.
CNN’s Dakin Andone contributed to the report.