Canada's Return to Normal Stalls

The Canadian Council of Chief Medical Officers stated on April 7, 2021, 'As we accelerate vaccination in Canada, we understand that everyone is looking forward to returning to a sense of normalcy.'

'We will be able to do this gradually based on local and regional COVID-19 activity, but we need to be careful.'

For example, Toronto Public Health issued a statement on April 6th confirming schools will be shut down as the city reported 955 new cases. The closure means more than 300,000 students, including those who attend private or independent schools, will return to learning from home exclusively.

And Ontario has declared its third province-wide state of emergency, issuing a stay-at-home order effective on April 8th.

'COVID-19 variants of concern are causing a rapid resurgence in Canada and threatening the sacrifices we have made to prevent and control COVID-19. We cannot let our individual and collective guards down until there is sufficient population protection from vaccination.'

'This means that for now, everyone needs to continue with public health measures that we know are effective, regardless of whether you have received one or two doses of vaccine or are not yet vaccinated.'

'As vaccination rolls out across Canada, it provides us with the opportunity to consider how best we can adapt public health measures and gradually lift the most restrictive ones.'

'As Chief Medical Officers of Health, we are committed to reviewing the evidence to inform when and how it is safe to relax these measures. We will continue to work together to provide clear and evidence-informed advice as the science and situation evolve, to keep everyone in Canada safe and healthy.'