The Eastern Ontario Health Unit (EOHU) is reporting a significant increase in COVID-19 cases, driven by the highly transmissible BA.5 Omicron variant and a decrease in vaccine and infection-related immunity in many people. Dr. Paul Roumeliotis, Medical Officer of Health, said he expects the seventh wave will follow the same pattern as seen in other countries: a 4-week increase followed by a 4-week decline.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are currently in the 7th wave of COVID-19, along with the rest of Ontario,\u201d said Roumeliotis. \u201cWe\u2019re watching local indicators closely and expect that the wave will peak over the next 1-2 weeks both locally and provincially.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cProtection from the two-dose vaccine series for many people is wearing off,\u201d he said. \u201cOver 65% of people under 50 have not yet gotten their first booster dose. This is a concern as the booster dose provides significant added protection against serious illness and hospitalization.\u201d<\/p>\n
The EOHU is strongly recommending keeping up to date with vaccine doses, especially those who haven\u2019t gotten their first three. Fourth doses are now available for eligible individuals age 18+. They\u2019re also recommending to wear a mask in public indoor settings and crowded outdoor events, and to stay home if you feel sick. As always, they say public health measures should be followed.<\/p>\n
For more information and the latest COVID-19 updates, visit www.EOHU.ca\/coronavirus.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The EOHU is warning of an increase in COVID-19 cases in the wake of the seventh wave. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":23999,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23998","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sante"],"acf":[],"featured_media_global":[],"yoast_head":"\n