Canada past Omicron wave peak, non-urgent surgeries to resume in IH

The country’s top doctor says Canada is past the peak of the COVID-19 wave caused by the Omicron variant.

At the same time, non-urgent surgeries will be scheduled again across Interior Health starting next week.

"We are hopeful we are approaching a period of reduced transmission, allowing Canadians a chance to regain a sense of normalcy," Dr. Theresa Tam, chief public health officer, said Friday.

B.C.'s provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry did not host a media event Friday.

Tam released new national epidemiology and modelling that shows progress in key indicators, such as lab test positivity and reported cases.

Wastewater surveillance also showed the wave is on its way down. Tam said that modelling indicated the true number of infections from Omicron during the wave has been much higher than reported.

Tam said while there are reasons to hope, COVID-19 is still spreading at high levels and hospitals remain stretched thin.

"While Omicron activity has likely peaked, easing of public health measures could still lead to resurgence," she said.

Tam showed models around loosening restrictions. The data showed if restrictions are eased moderately, there could be a limited resurgence of daily cases with a potential for a slight increase of hospitalizations in the spring.

With a more substantial easing of measures, Tam said, there could be a large resurgence of daily cases, potentially exceeding prior peaks. That may not lead to a similar growth in hospitalizations, she said, because of the country's level of vaccinations.

"While a resurgence of cases is not unexpected given the characteristics of the Omicron variant, the good news is that current levels of immunity in the Canadian population are expected to reduce the impact of the Omicron infections going forward," she said.

Canada is ready to transition out of a crisis phase, she said. The country is in a better position to manage the pandemic without some of the more restrictive COVID-19 health measures.

She said people should continue to take precautions such as avoiding crowded places and wearing a mask when necessary.

"The cases might go up but as long as that wave of hospitalizations isn't as high we can probably cope with that. And with that comes a better balance."

Resumption of scheduling of non-urgent surgeries

Meanwhile, Interior Health (IH) announced the scheduling of non-urgent elective surgical procedures will resume on Feb. 23, and phase back to full services over a two week period. Varying by community, select outpatient services, adult day programs and non-urgent home health services will resume. Impacted clients will be contacted directly.

IH temporarily paused non-urgent surgery as of Jan.18 to 'preserve safe and reliable access to patient care across the Interior region.'

The authority's CEO Susan Brown said Friday the resumption of service would be phased in.

“While staffing is not stable enough to safely restore all services next week, we are pleased to take initial steps and resume non-urgent elective surgeries for people throughout Interior Health. We will be rescheduling postponed procedures to catch up with the backlog as quickly as possible,” Brown said.

Latest numbers

B.C. is reporting 692 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, which is 35 more than Thursday. But the number of COVID-related hospitalizations has decreased by another 11, to 733, with 113 of those in intensive care, a drop of seven on the previous day. There were five new deaths.

In the Interior there were 217 new cases, 19 more than Thursday. Specifics regarding hospitalizations were expected later Friday.

With files from The Canadian Press