Canada Chief Public Health Officer Says Rise in COVID-19 Transmissions 'Not Good Sign'

TORONTO (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 08th September, 2020) The transmission of the novel coronavirus in Canada is on the rise and the increase in cases is not a good sign, the country's Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam told reporters on Tuesday.

"[The reproduction number] is now... at the national level, because of what is happening in the larger provinces, is hovering above 1, which means one person is transmitting to one person - just over - that is not a good sign, don't want that to happen. That has to be monitored very carefully," Tam said.

Tam reiterated that the latest rise in cases is largely attributed to a spike in infections among young adults engaging in social activities as the virus-induced lockdown is increasingly scaled back.

Last week, the Canadian authorities reported an average of 545 new infections - a 25 per cent increase over the previous week.

Tam said next week will be crucial in the fight against the novel coronavirus given that children have returned to school this week.

As of Tuesday, the number of novel coronavirus cases in Canada has surpassed 132,500 with 9,146 virus-related deaths, according to government data.