BREAKING Pearson gold heist suspect arrested after flying into Toronto from India
Another suspect is in custody in connection with the gold heist at Toronto Pearson International Airport last year, police say.
COVID-19 cases are rising again in Canada, with the two fast-spreading Omicron subvariants to blame, otherwise known as BA.4 and BA.5 variants.
First detected in South Africa in April this year, their ability to spread more quickly than other circulating variants, primarily BA.2, has led to scientists predicting their prevalence as the dominant variant in approaching months.
Canadian researchers examining the threat of emerging COVID-19 strains predicted that the Omicron BA.5 would account for nearly 70 per cent of cases by Canada Day. The latest Public Health Agency of Canada data, which goes back to June 12, shows that BA.5 made up 20.4 per cent of COVID-19 cases.
Sarah Otto, a University of British Columbia professor and modelling expert at the Coronavirus Variants Rapid Response Network, predicted a July wave peaking in August.
"The last sequence data was mid-June, but the projections for July 1 would be: roughly 13 per cent (of cases are) BA.4, and 69 per cent BA.5," said Otto in an interview with The Canadian Press.
"I'm referring to it as a third Omicron wave because I've lost count of all of the other waves."
The most recent Omicron variants appear to be causing fewer hospitalizations and fatalities than their older counterparts, which could be attributed to high vaccination levels and potential herd immunity, according to infectious disease specialist Dr. Isaac Bogoch.
“I think we have to take a step back and remember that the vast majority of Canadians have been vaccinated. So we do have a lot of community-level protection from immunity through vaccination," Bogoch told CTV’s Your Morning on Monday.
But, as cases of subvariants rise, it’s hard to predict if this trend will continue.
“(We’re) starting to see an uptick in, for example, wastewater surveillance, the percentage of tests that are positive and in certain parts of the country even started to see a small, real uptick in the number of people in hospital,” he said.
“So it's the real deal. We're having, you know, a summer wave. And, it's not quite clear how big this wave will be. But we certainly are having more cases now than we did a few weeks ago.”
There are also rising concerns about whether hospitals can handle a rise in cases, as emergency rooms across the country are currently facing unprecedented wait times, with some even facing shutdowns.
“The health-care system took a real walloping during this pandemic, and it never fully recovered,” Dr. Christopher Labos, a Montreal-based epidemiologist and cardiologist, told CTV News Channel on Monday.
“You have staff shortages, you have people who are burned out, and you're starting to see emergency rooms being forced to close for weekends or evenings because of staff shortages. And all this is happening in the context of more and more patients getting sick and more and more patients ending up in the hospital,” he added.
“Things are not OK.”
Labos says that the only way forward is for an Omicron-specific fourth vaccine dose to be released to all members of public, which should prevent severe sickness and give hospitals in the country a slight reprieve.
“I think we are going to need a booster to get us through the next few months because while we were expecting a wave, the fact that it's coming this early has sort of skewed plans a little bit,” he said.
“The fact that cases are surging now has changed the calculus on that a little bit, and so if cases stay low, you might be better off waiting for that moment on a specific Omicron vaccine which might come out in October, maybe November.”
Eligibility for fourth doses vary among provinces, although most are only offering second boosters to older adults and others deemed to be at higher risk.
Bogoch says that while the newer subvariants are much more transmissible than other strains, it remains unclear if they’re more dangerous or injurious to people’s health.
The easiest way to remain safe is to be up-to-date with COVID-19 vaccinations, Bogoch says, which will reduce the chances of getting sick and potentially eliminate the odds of hospitalization if one does get sick.
Otto noted that BA.4 and BA.5 appear to primarily infect the upper airways – versus the lower lungs – leading to less severe cases on average than pre-Omicron variants.
"My prediction is that the cases are going to go up, hospitalizations are going to go up, but my current hope is that it won't be as bad as the BA.2 wave," Otto said, adding there was not enough data yet to know for certain.
At the pace BA.5 has been growing, she said BA.5 is now about five times more common in Canada than BA.4.
"Pretty soon, it will just be the BA.5 wave."
With files from Canadian Press
Another suspect is in custody in connection with the gold heist at Toronto Pearson International Airport last year, police say.
Hailey and Justin Bieber are going to be parents. The couple announced the news on Thursday on Instagram, both sharing a video that showcases Hailey Bieber's growing belly.
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
A Conservative government led by Pierre Poilievre would not legislate on, nor use the notwithstanding clause, on abortion, his office says, as anti-abortion protesters gather on Parliament Hill.
A southwestern Ontario woman has received an $8,400 bill from a hospital in Windsor, Ont., after she refused to put her mother in a nursing home she hated -- and she says she has no intention of paying it.
Studies have shown that ultraprocessed foods can have a detrimental impact on health. But 30 years of research show they don’t all have the same impact.
Miss Teen USA resigned Wednesday, sending further shock waves through the pageant community just days after Miss USA said she would relinquish her crown.
Ontario Provincial Police confirm one person has died after a single-vehicle rollover crash in Sharbot Lake, Ont. that seriously injured five others.
A video circulating on social media of a young girl being hit by a bike has some calling for better safety and more caution when designing bike lanes in the city. The video shows a four-year-old girl crossing Jeanne-Mance Street in Montreal's Plateau neighbourhood to get on a school bus stopped on the opposite side of the street
A Listowel, Ont. man, drafted by the Hamilton Tigercats last week, is also getting looks from the NFL, despite only playing 27 games of football in his life.
A small Ajax dessert shop that recently received a glowing review from celebrity food critic Keith Lee is being forced to move after a zoning complaint was made following the social media influencer’s visit last month.
The Canada Science and Technology Museum is inviting visitors to explore their poop. A new exhibition opens at the Ottawa museum on Friday called, 'Oh Crap! Rethinking human waste.'
The Regina Police Service says it is the first in Saskatchewan and possibly Canada to implement new technology in its detention facility that will offer real-time monitoring of detainees’ vital health metrics.
The stakes have been set for a bet between Vancouver and Edmonton's mayors on who will win Round 2 of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
A grieving mother is hosting a helmet drive in the hopes of protecting children on Manitoba First Nations from a similar tragedy that killed her daughter.
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
A P.E.I. lighthouse and a New Brunswick river are being honoured in a Canada Post series.
An Ontario man says he paid more than $7,700 for a luxury villa he found on a popular travel website -- but the listing was fake.