Lambton's top doctor says the easing of restrictions in Ontario is painting an optimistic picture.
Medical Officer of Health Dr. Sudit Ranade told Stephanie Chaves during Tuesday's Community Update on CHOK (103.9FM/1070AM), that with the lifting of capacity limits in certain settings, we will likely see more transmission of COVID-19, but testing remains limited.
"Because not everyone is eligible to be tested anymore," said Dr. Ranade. "It's very possible we're going to see lots of people who are just, oh I have something and not sure what it is, it turns out that was COVID, but because they're not eligible to be tested, we won't even know about those people."
Dr. Ranade said while he's encouraged by the lower hospitalizations and high vaccination rate, allowing for the easing of restrictions, the pandemic is not over.
"If a severe, highly transmissible variant comes that evades vaccine protection for severe disease, we're all in a completely different boat than we are in now," he said. "But, the boat that we are in right now, looks like it's headed in a really good direction. You have to be able to accept that a lot of people are going to get COVID in its Omicron form, and that most of them aren't going to get very sick. If you can accept that and expect that, then you can start to move forward and say o.k., we are going to integrate how we treat this disease the way we treat other diseases that we routinely live with."
On Monday, Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced the next phase of the province's reopening plan ahead of schedule.
On Thursday, February 17, social gathering limits will increase to 50 people indoors, 100 people outdoors, and capacity limits in restaurants and bars will be lifted. A full list of easing public health measures can be found here.
To listen to the full interview with Dr. Ranade, click here.
