Tam warns of ‘urgency’ to lower infections as forecast paint dire scenario

OTTAWA, ON – Canada’s chief public health officer says there’s “urgency” to bring infections down as officials released dire new forecasts indicating that COVID-19 case counts have far surpassed levels seen during the first wave.

Dr. Theresa Tam says COVID-19 cases could skyrocket to 60,000 per day by the end of the year if Canadians increase their contact rates.

The modelling predicts that at current rates of contact, Canada is careening towards a surge of more than 20,000 cases per day by the end of December.

But if socialization increases, the projections indicate that as 2020 draws to a close, Canada could see a twelvefold increase from the current level of around 5,000 cases per day, which is already straining the health-care system in some regions.