The head of Ontario's COVID-19 Science Advisory Table says that it is “very clear” that Ontario is now in the middle of a sixth wave of the pandemic driven by a relaxing of restrictions in the province.
“Oh, we’re in the middle of it,” Dr. Peter Juni told CP24 Tuesday night when asked whether he thinks the province is in the midst of a new wave. “When you look at our wastewater, it's very clear. You can call it whatever you want, you know; whether it’s a resurgence of the Omicron wave we had or a sixth wave, the point is really to understand this is not a BA.2 wave.”
Juni estimated, based on viral levels measured in wastewater, that Ontario is currently seeing somewhere between 30,000 and 35,000 new infections per day. The real number of cases is almost impossible to measure because testing in the province has been severely scaled back. In a statement to CTV News Toronto Tuesday, Ontario’s Ministry of Health did not specifically say whether it sees the province as being in the middle of a new wave, but did say that Ontario hospitals are equipped to cope.
However Juni warned Tuesday that the modelling projections are “just a scenario” based on a moderate increase in transmission corresponding with a moderate change in behaviour. Juni said the idea that mask restrictions will lift and never come back “probably won’t play out this way. We just need to be aware of that.”
Epidemiologist Dr. Raywat Deonandan also spoke with CP24 Tuesday night and said that lifting of restrictions should not be tied to arbitrary calendar dates, but rather to measurable epidemiological indicators.