Dr. Tam Says COVID-19 Restrictions Are Working & Growth Is Down For The First Time In Weeks
On average, every person with COVID-19 is infecting fewer than one other person.
There's "a spark of good news" in Canada's COVID-19 modelling, according to Dr. Theresa Tam, who said that for the first time in weeks the epidemic is not growing.
According to Canada's recent modelling, the Rt number, which refers to how many people are being infected by each new case, is below one and "when each new case infects less than one person, the epidemic will die out" Tam explained.
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"Here's the spark of good news. In recent days, following the implementation of restrictions in heavily impacted areas of Canada the national Rt has finally dipped below one," Tam said. "For the first time in many weeks, the epidemic has dropped out of a growth pattern."
She said this drop is driven by decreases in Ontario, Quebec, and B.C., but the whole country isn't out of the woods yet as the Rt number remains above one in some places, so measures need to be maintained.
Tam said there is hope, however, as the modelling also showed that if there is enough uptake in vaccines, restrictions could be lifted in the summer.