COVID-19: high transmission rates for months in Saskatchewan, expert says
A high rate of transmission of the virus that causes COVID-19 is likely to plague Saskatchewan for months, according to acting chief medical officer and epidemiologist of the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) Dr. Cory Newdorf.
Of the 403 hospitalized due to COVID-19 on Wednesday, the province nearly reached the record of 410 hospitals set in mid-February.
Of those hospitalized, 25 are in intensive care. They were 20 last week.
If there is no change in behavior to reduce virus transmission, the high transmission rate we will have in the coming months, a very insecure situation, says Dr. Neudorf.
He added that Saskatchewan reached the peak of its transmission rate for the fifth wave when it was the first province in Canada to remove all health restrictions on Feb. 28, and the transmission rate had not dropped.
Meanwhile, the transmission rate from provinces maintaining their health measures is falling faster, Drs. Neudorf, although the sixth wave looms in those provinces because of the more transferable variant of BA.2.
If these provinces lift their restrictions, they will quickly lower the infection rate, as they start at a lower rate, Drs. Cory Neudorf. For us, even if we all get to start wearing the mask again, it will take longer [pour réduire le taux de transmission] because we start at a high rate.
Saskatchewan has more than four times more hospital cases due to COVID-19 than British Columbia and nearly four times more than Ontario, according to the latest data released by each of those provinces .
An unsustainable rate
Saskatchewan’s health care system cannot maintain the current infection rate in the province, said Nazeem Muhajarine, community health and epidemiology expert at the University of Saskatchewan.
This pressure on the health system […] is not sustainable without missing personnel and without further erosion of morale and, possibly, the quality of care he said on Friday.
The two experts urge Saskatchewanians to wear a mask indoors even if the government doesn’t ask them to, to just gather outside and get vaccinated without forgetting the booster doses.
According to provincial data released Thursday, 51.1% of people 18 and older have received at least one booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Across Canada, they are 57.07%, according to the latest data published by the federal government and dated April 3.
Those who were not vaccinated were nearly five times more likely to be hospitalized if they had COVID-19 and about ten times more likely to be admitted to intensive care compared to those who were fully vaccinated who received a booster dose, according to preliminary Saskatchewan data on COVID-19 infections.
COVID-19: high transmission rates for months in Saskatchewan, expert says
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