As more COVID-19 related restrictions eased across Ontario Tuesday, Lambton's Medical Officer of Health says they will continue to keep a close eye on case trends.
Dr. Sudit Ranade on CHOK (103.9FM/1070AM) Tuesday morning, told Stephanie Chaves that while Lambton Public Health has scaled back its daily reporting of cases, the risk of contracting the virus still exists.
However, he said Canada is in a good position with a high vaccination rate and a variant that is on average, less severe than other variants.
"That's a really good sign in terms of the kinds of things that we can do, up until we discover a variant that has maybe different properties and we won't know until we get there," said Dr. Ranade. "So I think too what's happening right now is it's almost like a pause, and we're waiting to see whether this pause is like the beginning of an ending, or whether it's a pause, and then something new is going to happen and we have to respond to that."
As of Tuesday, March 1 capacity limits have been lifted in all indoor public settings in Ontario, as well as proof of vaccination requirements. However, businesses and organizations may choose to continue asking for proof of vaccination upon entry.
Other public health measures such as masking and passive screening remain in effect.
Dr. Sudit Ranade said some people may need more time to adjust to the lifting of all restrictions. He said there are individuals that will find it difficult to accept that they can't completely prevent exposure to the virus, but rather only delay it.
"Once you come to the place of saying gosh, this is circulating around, it's going to keep circulating around and at some point I'm going to be exposed, then you can move to the place of understanding of how maybe some of these things aren't necessary anymore, until they might become necessary with a new variant," he said. "So, any way we can help with that, you know we'll try to do our best. But, the core comes from understanding that, because this is so transmissible, if you have any social interactions whatsoever, you will be exposed at some point in time."
The full Community Update with Dr. Sudit Ranade can be found here.
