Federal health officials are saying there could be nearly 32,000 cases of COVID-19 and between 500 and 700 deaths in Canada by April 16 — and anywhere from 11,000 to 22,000 deaths over the course of the pandemic, even with relatively strong control measures in place.
Federal health officials are saying there could be nearly 32,000 cases of COVID-19 and between 500 and 700 deaths in Canada by April 16 — and anywhere from 11,000 to 22,000 deaths over the course of the pandemic, even with relatively strong control measures in place.
That projection emerged Thursday morning as officials released modelling on how the COVID-19 crisis could unfold in the country, and suggested that containment measures, such as physical distancing and quarantines, could be in place for months to come.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau conceded that it won’t be easy to continue those measures because the first wave of the virus could last until the summer, with other outbreaks erupting after that.
Trudeau said he could not predict how long those measures will be required, but said some experts estimate it will take six to eight months to develop a vaccine, while others suggest it could take a year to 18 months.
He pleaded with Canadians to step up to meet what he called the “challenge of the generation” and said Canada is at a “fork in the road” between the best and worst outcomes.
“This will be the new normal until a vaccine is developed,” he said.
Watch: ‘This will be the new normal until a vaccine is developed’: Trudeau:
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says it will take months of Canadians’ “continued, determined effort” to follow pandemic measures such as physical distancing to overcome COVID-19. 1:55
Longer-term projections look at scenarios involving strong controls (one to 10 per cent of the population infected, called the “green zone” scenario), weaker controls (25 to 50 per cent of the population infected, the “blue zone”) and no controls at all (70-80 per cent infected, the “red zone”).
If about 2.5 to five per cent of the population became infected, that would mean between 934,000 and 1.9 million cases. That would also mean up to 22,000 deaths and between 23,000 and 46,000 ICU admissions.
If no containment measures had been taken (which was not the case in Canada), officials said there could have been about 300,000 deaths.
Officials said the caseload in Canada is doubling every three to five days, which is considered a relatively positive trajectory compared to other countries. Chief Public Health Officer Theresa Tam said that is in large part because of lessons learned from other countries about how strong control measures can limit the spread of the virus.
Tam said she is hopeful that Canada can stay in the green zone and keep infections and deaths relatively low.
‘Prevent every death that we can’
She warned that measures that can create “hardships” are critical to keeping ICU admissions and deaths as low as possible.
“We can’t prevent every death, but we must prevent ev