CDC warns of spread of COVID-19 in Canada

In November, the U.

Canada remains one of the top overseas destinations for Americans

Source: CDC

 Last month, the Canadian government already begged residents not to leave Canada for non-essential travel

 Meanwhile, statistics show that Canada recorded more COVID-19 cases in the first 40 days of the Omicron outbreak than in the entire first year of the pandemic

Since the first Omicron case was detected in Canada on November 29, 2021, there have been 777,609 new confirmed cases

The number of active cases has also more than quadrupled now compared to the peaks of the second and third waves in the winter and spring of last year

Source: CTV News

Although the more contagious Omicron variant appears to be causing less severe disease than previous variants such as Delta, the number of infections is still rising, as are hospitalizations and intensive care admissions, putting a strain on the already fragile health systems of many provinces and territories.

In Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick, hospitalization rates are near or at record highs

It is now widely believed that the actual number of infections in the latest wave is much higher than the number of confirmed cases, due to difficulties in ordering PCR tests over the holidays in some areas and modifying the tests to pass after the New Year in provinces such as Ontario

Wastewater data from around the country also suggests that the actual numbers are much higher

Trudeau will hold a conference call with provincial and local prime ministers today, which will be closed to the media, according to a schedule released by the Prime Minister's Office

Source: PMO

Canada's parliament won't resume regular sessions until the end of the month, but the opposition is pushing for two committees to study the federal government's current COVID-19 response and use Canadians' mobile phone data to inform public health measures

 The Conservatives' call for an emergency meeting of the House of Commons health committee this week was backed by Bloc Quebecois and the NDP, and three opposition MPs sent a joint letter to Liberal MP Sean Casey, the chair of the committee

 Lawmakers asked Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos and a series of senior health and procurement officials to discuss how to provide support to provinces facing shortages on quarantine times, vaccine boosters, rapid testing and COVID-19 19 treatment provides guidance, as well as access to N95 masks and a possible vaccine

Meanwhile, the Conservative Party of Canada and BQ have jointly signed a request for an emergency meeting of the House of Commons Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics Committee to investigate the use of anonymous mobile data by the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) during the COVID-19 pandemic
.

 As previously reported, PHAC said analysis of mobile location data was used to inform decision-making, as well as the effectiveness of public health information and restrictions
.

Throughout the pandemic, governments at all levels have been using mobile phone data for similar purposes
.
Early in the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, Google said it would share location data on Canadian users with the government
.

CDC warns against travel to Canada: COVID-19 cases surge there!

(Source: Internet, reference only)