While not yet conclusive, the small upticks in the national wastewater COVID viral test data, positive Ontario PCR test results and Ontario COVID hospitalizations collectively give a sense that the overdue seasonal rise in new infections may be beginning. It would take a couple more weeks of further rises to be sure.
With fewer data sources to draw from, that’s about all that can be said at this point.
Biweekly reporting on the part Public Health Canada on currently-circulating COVID variants means that there is nothing new to report this week. For those who haven’t read last week’s report, here is the text: We have a newly-dominant variant, XFG, which accounts for 32% of all new Canadian cases. More significantly, that new recombinant strain is already spawning a family of closely-related variants, including XFG.2 at 6% and XFG.3 at 27%. Together, they represent almost two-thirds of the Canadian market. Recent history suggests that they may crowd out most competing strains while continuing to diversity, becoming the basis for the next stage of this pandemic’s evolution. Fortunately for us, they don’t appear to be significantly more infectious than their predecessors.