'COVID is still here': Dr. Summers says after WHO declares COVID-19 still a global health emergency
Monday marks three years since World Health Organization Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus first declared COVID-19 to be a global health emergency.
At the WHO’s annual executive board meeting, Tedros said, “There is no doubt that we're in a far better situation now than a year ago” when the highly transmissible Omicron variant was at its peak.
But after days of deciding the status of the pandemic internationally, the WHO announced that COVID-19 continues to be a global health emergency.
On Monday, the advisory panel found that the pandemic may be nearing an “inflection point” due to higher levels of immunity which could reduce the number of deaths related to COVID-19.
Three years after the virus was first declared a global emergency, many Canadians have returned to lpre-pandemic life without masking or restrictions in place in Ontario.
“COVID is still here and it continues to make an impact across the globe,” said Dr. Alex Summers, medical officer of health at the Middlesex-London Health Unit.
“The message from the WHO is to continue to vaccinate, to continue to be vigilant for emerging variants is really important for us, even here in southwestern Ontario,” he said.
The severity of getting COVID-19 has shifted, however, “This isn't a benign infection, this isn’t something to ignore, it’s still worthwhile to avoid getting sick with this virus,” said Summers.
Despite the number of hospitalizations in Ontario falling after a recent uptick, Peter Bergmanis with the London Health Coalition told CTV News London the health care system is still under strain.
“If there’s anything we should’ve been doing it's starting to properly fund the hospital system so that we wouldn’t have such a crisis that we’re in now,” Bergmanis said. “In hospitals and nursing homes staff are still off with COVID and we’re not even doing the most basic things to prevent the spread.”
Tedros explained that there is still concern about the impact of the virus, “Since the beginning of December we had reported deaths rising. In the past eight weeks more than 17,000 people have lost their lives due to COVID-19."
In a statement, the WHO said, “The committee acknowledged that the COVID-19 pandemic may be approaching an inflection point,” explaining that higher levels of immunity due to vaccination or infection may limit the impact of COVID-19 on “morbidity and mortality.”
— With files from The Associated Press
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Health Canada to change sperm donor screening rules for men who have sex with men
Health Canada will change its longstanding policy restricting gay and bisexual men from donating to sperm banks in Canada, CTV News has learned. The federal health agency has adopted a revised directive removing the ban on gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men, effective May 8.
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer denied bail after being charged with killing Canadian couple
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer, one of two men charged in the killings of a Canadian couple in Dominica, has been denied bail.
LeBlanc says he plans to run in next election, under Trudeau's leadership
Cabinet minister Dominic LeBlanc says he plans to run in the next election as a candidate under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's leadership, amid questions about his rumoured interest in succeeding his longtime friend for the top job.
Grandparent scam suspects had ties to Italian organized crime, police allege
A group of suspects that allegedly defrauded seniors across Ontario and other parts of Canada using a so-called emergency grandparent scam appear to have ties to 'Italian traditional organized crime,' according to an investigator involved in the OPP-led probe.
Sports columnist apologizes for 'oafish' comments directed at Caitlin Clark. The controversy isn’t over
A male columnist has apologized for a cringeworthy moment during former University of Iowa superstar and college basketball’s highest scorer Caitlin Clark’s first news conference as an Indiana Fever player.
Trend Line Anger, pessimism towards federal government reach six-year high: Nanos survey
Most Canadians in March reported feeling angry or pessimistic towards the federal government than at any point in the last six years, according to a survey by Nanos Research.
B.C.'s short-term rental regulations include $10K daily penalties for Airbnb, other platforms
Short-term rental platforms that violate B.C.'s pending regulations can face administrative penalties of up to $10,000 per day, officials announced Thursday.
Closing arguments heard in trial for Sask. dad accused of abducting daughter
Closing arguments were heard Thursday morning in the case of Michael Gordon Jackson, the Saskatchewan man accused of abducting his daughter in 2021 to keep her from getting a COVID-19 vaccine.
Cat found on Toronto Pearson airport runway 3 days after going missing
Kevin the cat has been reunited with his family after enduring a harrowing three-day ordeal while lost at Toronto Pearson International Airport earlier this week.