Ontario facing 'tidal wave' of over 100,000 new COVID-19 cases per day, science table head estimates

Ontario is seeing an estimated 100,000 to 120,000 new cases of COVID-19 daily, according to the head of the province's scienceadvisory table.

Dr. Peter Jnisaid on Wednesday that estimate is based on the amount of the novel coronavirus seen in Ontario'swastewater a measure data expertsbegan relying on to get a sense of thepathogen'sspreadwhen the provincestarted restricting PCR testing last year.Hesaid the current spike looks very much likethe fifth wave fuelled by the Omicron variant when itreached a peak in early January.

"We're at the same level again that we were then,"Jnitold CBC News Network.

The provincial governmentlifted most COVID-19 public health measures, including mask mandates in indoor settings, in March, but JnisaidOntariansshould start wearing masksagain as they're the quickestway to bring cases down.

"Ofcourse, we're in a different position. I agree, we shouldn't panic but we should mask up. That's the point here," he said.

WATCH | Ontario seeing 100,000-120,000 daily new COVID-19 cases,expert estimates:

Don't panic but wear a mask, Ontario COVID-19 expert says

2 years ago

Duration 5:50

Wastewater testing suggests Ontario is experiencing as many new COVID-19 infections as it did during the peak of Omicron, says Dr. Peter Jni, the head of the province's COVID-19 Science Advisory Table.

Jnisaid the numbers are concerning "we create the tidal wave again" but headdedOntario might not see the same number of hospitalizations as it did in January due to mass vaccination.

"The point here really is, we've builtup a wall of immunity, thanks to third doses and thanks to a lot of people who got infected. This will help us,"he said.

Juni said the restricted eligibility fortestingmeans it's unclear how long this wave will last, because it's not known how many people have been infected so far and have an extra bit of immunity.

He said getting a third dose of a COVID-19 vaccine is even more effective at boosting immunity than catching the virus, as evidence suggests the current variant can be caught multiple times.

'No cause for panic,' health minister says

An estimated 4.5to five million people in Ontario have been infected with COVID-19 since Dec. 1, 2021, Jnisaid.

"It's basically us lifting the restrictions and now just moving too much towardnormality," Jnisaid.

"We just need a little bit longer right now."

But earlier on Wednesday, Health Minister Christine Elliott saidthe province was expecting a spike in infections as the province reopened.

Vaccines and antiviral drugs should help the province weather the latest surge, she said.

"This is something that we are sure we're going to be able to get through.There is no cause for panic."

Dr. Kashif Pirzada, an emergency room physician in Toronto, said hospitals are seeing a steady increase in admissions of COVID-19 patients, especially theelderly.

"It's too early to say, but if it's following anything like the last wave, we're going to hit capacity in the next couple of weeks," Pirzada said.

He said hospital workers are already burned out.

"Already, the wait times are crazy. We're short staffed. People are getting sick every day. At the hospitals I work [in], they're asking for people to come in early, leave late and cover for sick shifts," he said.

Pirzada saidthe government needs to make a real plan to provide guidance on what to do at home, work and schoolas the pandemic continues. He recommended the return of mask mandates,improvements in ventilation of indoor spaces and twice weekly rapid testing at schools and workplaces.

"These are messages that I wish that our medical leadership would get out there, but it's not really happening right now," he said.

"Dropping precautions when a wave was starting was a really bad move and it's going to cost us all, unfortunately."

No sign of medical officer of health

As metrics around the virus rise, the province's chief medical officer of health has been absent from the public eye. Dr. Kieran Moore held his last public briefing on March 9 and has turned down interview requests since then. At the time of that press conference last month, 751 people were hospitalized with COVID-19, compared to 1,126 on Thursday.

"Dr. Moore has chosen not to appear in regular conferences because, in his words, we have to learn to live with COVID as it is now," Elliott said.

"We can't continue to have to need weekly updates when we know that we are seeing an increase but the increase is manageable."

But Liberal House leader John Fraser said Ontarians have relied on the top doctor's briefings to determine their risk of catching COVID-19.

"Now we're facing what looks like it's going to be the biggest wave and there's a vacuum, a vacuum of leadership. The chief medical officer of health is nowhere to be found," he told the legislature.