Why Saskatoon's COVID-19 trend could be cause for cautious optimism
With the University of Saskatchewan research team monitoring the city's wastewater for signs of COVID-19 noting an 85 per cent drop in its latest update, experts in the city say the trend is cause for cautious optimism.
“All the people that I've known that had it are recovered and back to work, so I think that was reflected in our numbers,” said John Giesy, one of the researchers.
Giesy believes the findings are a signal that the city has passed the peak of the sixth wave of COVID-19.
“It's springtime, and so that's generally when things trend down, and now we've got a lot of people with immunity.”
Nazeem Muhajarine, an epidemiologist based at the university, agrees.
“Omicron has infected all of the susceptible people who it could infect, and maybe it is sort of on its way out,” he said.
“I have to say that very, very cautiously because it's still high, Omicron, and there's so many people are getting COVID-19 and it's all Omicron.”
Muhajarine says the decrease also coincides with the rollout of second booster doses for people aged 50 and over.
“A lot of people are lining up and a lot of people are making appointments and bookings and getting their second booster dose,” he said.
“It'd be nice to see another week, another two weeks of continuing decrease of this viral load viral material in the wastewater and that will give us more confidence that we are really seeing that trend.”
In its most recent weekly Covid-19 report, the province says other respiratory viruses have higher test positivity in Saskatchewan than COVID-19, including respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) with 14 per cent test positivity, influenza at 12 per cent, and enterorhinovirus at 11 per cent.
Muhajarine says he would expect to see other respiratory viruses present in the winter rather than spring and summer.
Also concerning to Muhajarine is long COVID.
“Some large studies have found up to 30 to 33 per cent of people who are initially infected still have persistent symptoms and signs, persistent organ effect, effects in the brain, gut, lung, heart, all these organ systems, effected long after that initial infection,” he said.
“We don't know everything we need to know about long COVID either, so I really think that people who are hesitant into getting a booster dose, first or second, you really should be getting that because that's actually how you keep long COVID at bay.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Which Canadian cities have the highest and lowest grocery prices?
Where you live plays a big factor in what you pay at the grocery store. And while it's no secret the same item may have a different price depending on the store, city or province, we wanted to see just how big the differences are, and why.
'State or state-sponsored actor' believed to be behind B.C. government hacks
The head of British Columbia’s civil service has revealed that a “state or state-sponsored actor” is behind multiple cyber-security incidents against provincial government networks.
Swarm of 20,000 bees gather around woman’s car west of Toronto
A swarm of roughly 20,000 bees gathered around a woman’s car in the parking lot of Burlington Centre.
Mother assaulted by stranger while breastfeeding baby in her car: Vancouver police
A person was arrested in East Vancouver Thursday after allegedly entering a car while a mother was breastfeeding her four-month-old boy.
More than half the Canadians once detained in Syrian camps for suspected ISIS family members have returned home
A total of 29 Canadians have been freed from detention camps in northeast Syria and brought back to Canada since human rights advocates began lobbying for their release years ago.
Rare severe solar storm Friday could bring spectacular aurora light show across Canada
A rare and severe solar storm is expected to bring spectacular displays of the northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, across much of Canada and parts of the United States on Friday night.
Canada abstains from Palestinian UN membership vote but supports two-state solution
Canada was one of 25 countries that abstained from a United Nations vote on Palestinian membership that passed with overwhelming support on Friday.
Amish youth experience a rite of passage called Rumspringa. It’s not what you might think
The idea of “Rumspringa” has a specific spot in the American imagination. A rite of passage for young people in some Amish communities, Rumspringa is seen by most outsiders as a wild time away from strict Amish rules, when teenagers can experiment with the modern vices of the world.
Djokovic needs medical attention after getting knocked on the head by a water bottle at Italian Open
Novak Djokovic needed medical attention after apparently getting knocked on the head by a water bottle after a win at the Italian Open on Friday.