COVID cases are rising across Canada. Where are the country’s top doctors?

COVID-19 is sweeping across Canada, leading to high rates of infection and increased hospitalizations in most provinces. But unlike during previous outbreaks, many of the country’s top doctors have been largely absent from the public eye.Now, health experts say the public should be getting clearer messaging – that even if virus protection measures like masking and distancing aren’t being mandated by law, they should still be followed.“I think we should still (be) encouraging people to continue wearing a mask when they’re in public, when they’re on the subway, when they’re in a concert, going to the theater or a sports game,” says Tim Sly, an epidemiologist and professor emeritus with the School of Public Health at Toronto Metropolitan University.

Sask. Ministry of Health says COVID-19 activity increasing Rising rates of infection are being recorded through wastewater data in almost every province, hospitalizations are increasing across the country and many people who have already contracted COVID-19 are getting re-infected.The highly-contagious Omicron subvariant known as BA.5 is a major culprit behind these new infections, which is also fuelling surges of cases in the United States, Europe and elsewhere.But the removal of public health restrictions and measures such as mask mandates are also a major factor, Sly said.“What we’re looking at here is the fact that the virus is not done with us yet by a long means,” he said.

Quebec reports 15 more deaths due to COVID-19 as hospitalizations drop “We’re also … going into a wave at a time when a lot of people have given up their masks and normal protection that they’ve been doing up to up until now.