6th COVID-19 wave: Experts urge masking, boosters to tackle latest surge

As Canada heads towards a sixth wave of COVID-19 with rising cases and hospitalizations across the country, health experts are stressing the need to continue masking and boosting the population.

Latest modelling by the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) released on Friday showed a 34-per cent increase in daily average case counts as of March 30, indicating a resurgence is underway. Read more: COVID-19 will be with us for ‘foreseeable future’ PHAC says, warning of future waves The latest surge is being partially driven by the highly transmissible BA.2 subvariant of Omicron, which is now the dominant version of the virus in several provinces, as well as the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions, including masking and proof of vaccination, in most settings, federal health officials say.

Experts are frustrated that the mask mandates, one of the key tools in tackling the virus, were taken off too quickly by provinces — and that decision needs to be reconsidered before the situation gets out of control. “Masks need to go back on very quickly.

Otherwise we’re going to have a lot more cases on our hands,” said Dr. Kashif Pirzada, an emergency physician in Toronto. Mandate or no mandate, Tim Sly, an epidemiologist and professor emeritus in the School of Public Health at Ryerson University, said the messaging around giving people the freedom to take their mask off and “go back to normal “ was a mistake. Read more: Toronto’s top doctor encourages masks in public spaces as Ontario sees 6th wave of COVID-19 “I think we should be encouraging people to wear a mask in a crowded situation, subway or a sports arena or in a large classroom … or a shopping mall,” he said.