The incidence of COVID-19 in Newfoundland and Labrador is expected to skyrocket and with the introduction of Omicron’s new BA-5 sub-variant, Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Janice Fitzgerald says hospitalizations are also expected to increase.
Four new deaths were recorded today, with three hospital admissions and 68 new confirmed cases.
Fitzgerald says the new subvariant is better at avoiding the protection provided by vaccines and the immunity provided by previous infections.
Dr. Fitzgerald says recent modeling shows increase in hospitalizations and cases due to BA5 subvariant of [email protected] pic.twitter.com/Rln4cXrvAi
— Noah Sheppard (@SheppardNoah14) July 13, 2022
Masks remain an effective form of protection against the spread.
That said, Fitzgerald says vaccines remain the best protection against serious illness due to COVID-19, and with that in mind, the province will begin offering second booster doses of the COVID vaccine to anyone over 50 starting next Wednesday.
Fitzgerald says people may want to wait until the fall to get their second booster, as doses better designed to fight Omicron are expected to be available. He says people should weigh their personal risk and make the decision accordingly.
The seven-day isolation guidelines remain in place for anyone who has tested positive for COVID-19.
Dr Fitzgerald says when this projected increase is completed, NL could see isolation requirements [email protected]
— Noah Sheppard (@SheppardNoah14) July 13, 2022
