Canada is likely at the start of a Delta-driven fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, federal public health officials warned on Friday.

The news comes on the heels of an upward trend in cases across Canada which, if vaccine uptake doesn’t increase in younger groups, could eventually exceed healthcare system capacity.

A long range epidemic forecast “suggests we are at the start of the Delta driven fourth wave,” Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam told reporters. But, she added, “that the trajectory will depend on ongoing increase in fully vaccinated coverage and the timing, pace and extent of reopening.”

The doctor also said Canada's COVID-19 case count is 93 per cent lower than during the peak of its third wave, but there is still some resurgence as public health measures are loosened across the country. She added that as of Friday, the latest seven-day average of people being treated in hospital for the virus has fallen to below 480 people daily.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has described the Delta variant of the coronavirus as being as transmissible as chickenpox and cautioned it could cause severe disease, the Washington Post said, citing an internal CDC document.

For more info, please go to https://globalnews.ca/news/8073598/covid-coronavirus-vaccine-hesitant-hospital-deaths-modelling/

Subscribe to Global News Channel HERE: http://bit.ly/20fcXDc
Like Global News on Facebook HERE: http://bit.ly/255GMJQ
Follow Global News on Twitter HERE: http://bit.ly/1Toz8mt
Follow Global News on Instagram HERE: https://bit.ly/2QZaZIB
#GlobalNews #COVID19 #coronavirus