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We are moving to the endemic phase if we don't have a massive outbreak.
Prime Minister Trudeau and Minister of Health Jean-Yves Duclos are at a news conference to discuss the latest Omicron variant as it emerges as a threat to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Blair Gable is the photographer.
Trudeau said the federal government would procure 140 million rapid antigen tests, a big increase from an earlier order, suggesting authorities are preparing to live with Omicron rather than defeat it.
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The professor of strategic management at the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management said that the public health point of view has changed.
You should manage it yourself if we don't have a massive outbreak. If the hospitals are going to be overwhelmed is the only thing we will care about.
The federal government ordered 35 million test kits in December, despite anecdotal evidence of severe shortages and new health restrictions that echo the toughest phases of the Pandemic. Trudeau urged Canadians to remain isolated until the latest wave of COVID-19 passes.
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Trudeau said at the press conference that he understands people are frustrated but he also knows how to get through it.
Trudeau said that when waves hit like the Omicron wave, they have to hunker down and pull together.
The Omicron variant has spread across Canada. On New Year's Day, Ontario recorded an unprecedented 18,400 cases. The official case count of 34,000 on Tuesday is higher than before because of restrictions on access to the more reliable tests, according to the premier. Workers are calling in sick more often.
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The hospitalization rates have been manageable, but recent data shows a spike in the number of people requiring treatment. The number of people hospitalized in Ontario and Quebec due to COVID-19 increased from 480 and 614 on December 27 to 2,081 and 1,750 on January 5.
Most economists think the economy will push through. Growth will inevitably slow in the first quarter, but probably not as much as it has in the past, because business and consumers have adjusted to life during a Pandemic and vaccination rates are higher.
The impact will be less than it was last year, because not as many people were vaccinations, according to the deputy chief economist at Royal Bank of Canada. We are not anticipating a negative quarter but a soft quarter for growth that will be made up with stronger growth as we go through the middle quarters of the year.
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The Bank of Canada should not be deterred from raising interest rates in the first half of the next decade, according to Desjardins. The central bank is expected to raise interest rates for the first time since the start of the Pandemic in April. The economy should be helped by a strong labour market, an impressive rebound in economic growth over the second half of 2021, and rising wages.
The Bank of Canada has responded to the spread of COVID-19 by saying that the economy no longer needs low interest rates.
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At the press conference, Freeland said that the COVID-19-related subsidies the federal government rolled out at the end of December were part of a temporary expansion to Bill C-2.
The federal government has made sure that economic support is available to Canadians if they need it, Freeland said.
The government will provide $300 a week in income support to eligible workers who are directly affected by a COVID-19-related public health lockdown or capacity restrictions, and lost 50 per cent or more of their income as a result. Businesses can qualify for wage and rent subsidies if they have lost 25 per cent of their revenue in the past month against the numbers of the year before, compared to the previous threshold of 40 per cent. The federal government will help with revenue declines.
The Omicron variant is less deadly than the past waves, so it is not as big of a worry. It would be difficult to test everyone effectively because it is more transmissible. The federal government should use rapid tests to the most vulnerable settings to help prevent spread.
He said that this is a different set of circumstances than the one we faced in March of 2020.
Email: bbbharti@postmedia.com
