could soon be overwhelmed with COVID-19 patients unless tougher public health measures are taken to quell the pandemic’s fourth wave, an independent modelling group warned today. currently has the highest per-capita infection rate in Canada and is on track to see 90 per cent of ICU beds filled with COVID-19 patients, the BC COVID-19 Modelling Group said in a report. Delta variant cases — 95 per cent of current infections — are doubling every nine days, the report said. Even with increased vaccinations and more stringent but temporary public health measures, hospitalizations could peak at close to 1,000, almost double the previous record in April when scheduled surgeries at a number of hospitals were cancelled. Health areas with 70-per-cent vaccine coverage are seeing five times as many cases as those with 90-per-cent vaccine coverage, the modelling report found.

Source: thestar August 19, 2021 04:07 UTC