Active COVID-19 cases in Canada down but variants could fuel a surge: Dr. Tam

New federal forecasts project that COVID-19 variants could fuel a surge of 20,000 new cases per day by mid-March if public health restrictions are relaxed further.

The Public Health Agency of Canada released modelling today suggesting that while infections continue to decline nationally, the spread of virus mutations threatens to reverse that progress.

More contagious variants of COVID-19 have been detected in all provinces.

Main message from feds today, including @JustinTrudeau now: Covid numbers are dropping because our prevention measures are working, but with new variants of concern, we can’t let down our guard, or the numbers could spike dramatically in the spring. @CHCHNews 6pm full story.

— Lisa Hepfner (@LisaHepfnerCHCH) February 19, 2021

Chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam says there are currently fewer than 33,000 active cases in Canada, a 60 per cent drop compared to a month ago.

But she says we are at a critical point in the pandemic and limiting the impact of the variants will require enhanced public health measures and everyone taking strict precautions.