'We have been abandoned': Sask. doctor slams Moe's Quebec comparison
The Omicron COVID-19 variant has been spreading rapidly but Saskatchewan hospitals have not yet felt its full effects.
Over the past two weeks, cases in hospital and intensive care have nearly doubled, with the province reporting 1,000 cases nearly every day.
Cory Neudorf, interim senior medical health officer with the Saskatchewan Health Authority, says those numbers will keep climbing.
“We haven't seen the impact of this 1,000 plus cases a day on the system,” said Neudorf.
“Hospitalizations tend to lag cases by about two weeks or so and then ICU admissions lag cases by another week or two.”
Neudorf says the province could eventually lean on other provinces for help like it did during the Delta wave.
“It does seem that way. There is some inevitability to that increasing pressure that's going to come.”
According to Neudorf, Omicron is less severe than the Delta variant but spreads more rapidly. From the information, he has been provided it attacks people's nose and throat and the first part of the bronchus. It's less likely than Delta to cause pneumonia.
Neudorf says health experts are still learning more about Omicron and some people who contract it could have a different experience. He notes that the lower down the virus goes in a person's system, the worse it is for their body. It hits the unvaccinated harder.
Neudorf says the province should consider implementing gathering size limits or cancelling large events.
In a press release, Premier Scott Moe said new restrictions won’t be implemented.
"Saskatchewan's rate of COVID-19 related deaths in January is the lowest of any province and 90 per cent below the national rate of 4.8 per 100,000 population. It is worth noting that Quebec, with the most severe lockdown measures in Canada, has the highest COVID-19 fatality rate in Canada in January and one of the highest current rates in the world."
Infectious disease physician Dr. Alexander Wong says this isn't an accurate comparison.
"We're just a few weeks behind where they are — of course we're not as bad as they are. We're not in the same place in the Omicron wave as they are," he said.
In the release, Moe said his government "sees no clear evidence that lockdown measures have reduced hospitalizations, ICU admissions and deaths in other provinces."
"As a health care provider and as a frontline health care provider, and speaking for many of my colleagues, it is exhausting and completely disappointing to feel that we have been abandoned this way by our elected officials," said Wong.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Leafs star Auston Matthews finishes season with 69 goals
Auston Matthews won't be joining the NHL's 70-goal club this season.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Doug Ford calls on Ontario Speaker to reverse Queen's Park keffiyeh ban
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on Speaker Ted Arnott to reverse a ban on keffiyehs at Queen's Park, describing the move as “needlessly” divisive.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.