Dr. Tam advises vaccinated people to wear masks amid mounting concerns of fourth COVID wave

Canada’s COVID outlook is "slightly precarious," with infection rates rising since July 18 and likely to continue upwards into September, said Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada's chief public health officer. Even Canadians who are fully vaccinated must wear masks indoors this fall, she said, according to Blacklock's.

"I think we’re in a slightly precarious period at the moment in between these people trying to get the vaccine in and reopening," Tam told reporters. "As soon as that balance is tipped, and it wouldn’t take very much with a highly transmissible virus, you’re going to see an uptake in cases."

Tam said the fourth wave of infections is likely following previous waves that peaked in May 2020, last January and again in May 2021. "A resurgence of cases is likely this fall and winter when restrictive measures and individual precautions are lifted," she added.

The Public Health Agency in an Update On Covid-19 In Canada: Epidemiology And Modeling said there was "uncertainty in the forecasts because it is not yet clear how much recent and future reopening will impact contact rates." Tam said the data suggested, "the epidemic trajectory may evolve through early September."

"A resurgence of cases is likely this fall and winter when restrictive measures and individual precautions are lifted," said Tam. Even fully vaccinated people should expect to remain masked indoors for months to come, she added. "We advise prudence and caution."

"What does it actually mean then? It means that in those indoor settings, even if you’ve been vaccinated, maybe people should continue to wear a mask," said Tam. "Certainly, when there’s still a lot of unvaccinated people around, you don’t want to spread it to others even if you’ve been vaccinated."

Federal figures show 56 percent of the total population is fully vaccinated, and 64 percent of those aged 12 and older. The Health Agency said an 80 percent rate of full vaccination coverage is feasible in September but cautioned even those people may still carry the coronavirus.

"There is no vaccine that’s 100 percent effective," said Dr. Howard Njoo, deputy chief public health officer. "The fact is that even fully vaccinated people. It’s still possible a small percentage of them could pass on the transmission to others. The number of social contacts that each individual has in their social circle is very important to consider."

"What we want to focus on is, why are 6.3 million Canadians who are eligible to get the vaccine haven’t even received their first dose?" Njoo told reporters. "You know, what are you waiting for?"

"Even vaccinated people can carry the virus and then transmit [it] to others," said Njoo. "That’s all very concerning."

Experts warn of a fourth COVID wave, citing data on the delta variant spread among vaccinated people. Data released by the BC Centre for Disease Control confirmed the Delta variant was present in 60 percent of BC cases as of July 24.

The province reported 96 percent of cases since June came from people with either one dose of a government-approved COVID vaccine or those who remain unvaccinated.

Saskatchewan was the first Canadian province to lift all public health restrictions, with Alberta just announcing a two-phase transition that began on July 29.

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe accused the CBC of spreading medical misinformation about his Health Minister.

At the top of the article, titled "Alberta, Saskatchewan removing public health restrictions 'a bad mistake' right now, experts say," the crown corporation and media organization have since corrected the error, clarifying "An earlier version of this story stated Saskatchewan Health Minister Paul Merriman had tested positive for COVID-19 after that province lifted restrictions on July 11. This was incorrect; Merriman has not tested positive for COVID-19."

The article criticized Saskatchewan for lifting all COVID restrictions on July 11, citing public health experts who stated herd immunity had not yet been reached.