In a briefing Wednesday, her first since May, Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Janice Fitzgerald said the new mutation – a sub-variant of Omicron – does not appear to cause more severe disease, but may evade immunity a little better. “We can expect to also see an increase in hospitalizations over the next two to three weeks,” he said. “The increase in cases is to be expected given what we are seeing in other jurisdictions with the BA.5 subvariant.” He said the next wave is not expected to be worse than what the province has previously seen, with hospitalizations possibly peaking in late July or August. About 30 people are expected to be hospitalized at the height of the wave. Appointments will be available from next week for those who have been 20 weeks since their last reminder. However, even with the rapid spread of the BA.5 variant, the isolation requirements in NLs are not changing, Fitzgerald said. Seven days of isolation is required for anyone who tests positive for COVID-19. Fitzgerald said Public Health will consider reducing the time required for isolation when there is a reduction in COVID-19 activity and a sustained reduction in hospitalizations.
An autumn increase is expected
While Public Health expects cases to increase in the coming weeks, Fitzgerald said they are also bracing for a spike in the fall as people move back indoors. He said anyone looking to get their next booster dose should consider getting it then, when it might be the best time to add protection against the fast-spreading virus. By that time, Fitzgerald continued, there may even be new vaccines targeting the Omicron variant. See the full July 13 update: “The timing of your second recall is a choice that only you have to make. It’s not always easy, and I encourage you to consult reliable sources of information when making the decision and discuss it with your health care provider,” she said. Recommendations for fourth vaccine doses came from Canada’s National Immunization Advisory Committee earlier this month as officials hope to contain the spread of the virus in the fall. Fitzgerald’s announcement comes a day after New Brunswick changed its vaccination guidelines to allow anyone over the age of 18 to receive a second booster dose as long as five months have passed since the third dose. The change was made due to the emergence of BA.5 which has overtaken Omicron as the dominant strain of the virus in provinces such as New Brunswick and Ontario. As the new strain is more contagious, Fitzgerald said, public health wants to keep the increase in new cases and hospitalizations as low as possible. He said he had stepped up the use of masks as a way to slow the spread, but added that there was no talk of making masks mandatory again. “I know it’s been a long two years and we’re all very tired of COVID and we still have to stay vigilant and do what we can to live with COVID-19,” Fitzgerald said. “Vaccination is crucial in this regard. It is important that you receive every dose of vaccine for which you are eligible, even if you have already had a COVID-19 infection. You should be recovered and symptom-free at the time of your appointment with the vaccine.”
Weekly update
Meanwhile, the province reported four new deaths in the week since the last update on the pandemic. Two people were 80 years or older and two were in their 60s. Three were in the Eastern Health area and one in the Western Health area. The province also reported 388 new cases in the past week: 77 on Thursday, 70 on Friday, 77 on Saturday, 24 on Sunday, 13 on Monday, 59 on Tuesday and 68 on Wednesday. These numbers, however, do not truly reflect the spread of COVID-19 in Newfoundland and Labrador, as the Department of Health has limited testing conducted by provincial health authorities and no longer reports data on the number of tests completed . Read more from CBC Newfoundland and Labrador
