1/7 New slide deck released today “Ask Ontario’s Science Table: Omicron Edition” covid19-sciencetable.ca/sciencebrief/a… which answers questions on how to stay safe and protect our communities this holiday season. Share, screenshot & print.
2/7 Given sharply increasing case counts and the transmissibility of Omicron, consider postponing gatherings, moving them outdoors or virtual. If you do gather, keep it as small as possible and use multiple layers of protection to stay safe.
3/7 Think of these layers of protection as slices of Swiss cheese. No single action is perfectly safe, there are holes. But like Swiss cheese, more layers means fewer holes.
4/7 Protection layer 1: get your vaccines or booster. Everyone in Ontario 18+ is eligible for a booster 84 days after dose 2. Vaccinate kids ages 5-11 to protect them from COVID-19 illness and/or side effects and reduce transmission. It's not too late to get a 1st or 2nd dose!
5/7 Protection layer 2: wear a high-quality mask when indoors with those outside your immediate household. A high-quality mask is a medical/surgical mask or KN/N95. Not ready to toss your stylish cloth masks? Wear them over your high-quality mask for extra protection.
6/7 Protection layer 3: Breathe fresh & filtered air. The safest place to gather with those outside of your immediate household is outdoors. Bundle up & embrace winter! If you do gather indoors, still bundle up because you should have windows open to help fresh air circulate.
7/7 Protection layer 4: Postpone gathering or keep it small. Gathering now means you can be exposed to Omicron. If you have access to rapid tests,use them right before visiting & remember they aren’t perfect so use all layers of protection (vaccines,masks,distancing,ventilation)
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[1/20]: The Science Table completes its work this week. As our final work we are releasing our largest brief, a focus on the core of all health systems: primary care.
[2/20] This three-part series looks at primary care during the pandemic and outlines challenges and lessons learned: covid19-sciencetable.ca/science-briefs/
[3/20] Primary care offers a critical entry point into the health care system. More than 2 years of ongoing COVID-19 response has challenged the practice and capacity of primary care in Ontario, which have important implications that impact ongoing pandemic response and recovery.
(1/7) We released a new Science Brief today on infection prevention and control considerations for schools during the 2022-23 academic year. Read it here: covid19-sciencetable.ca/sciencebrief/i…
(2/7) In-person schooling is essential for children and youth for both educational attainment and the development of social, emotional growth and life skills.
(3/7) There are several permanent health and safety measures that are recommended to reduce the risk of transmission of communicable infections in schools, including COVID-19.
We have likely entered a wave driven by the Omicron BA.5 subvariant.
Key Messages:
- The rise in hospitalizations will likely be smaller than earlier waves, but our hospitals are already very strained.
(1/17)
Key Messages (Cont'd):
- You can be re-infected by BA.5 even if you have recently been infected with an earlier strain.
- Non severe infections can still be disruptive to your life and increase long COVID risk.
(2/17)
Key Messages (Cont'd):
- The 3rd vaccine dose is critical to protect against severe disease.
- Going back to wearing a mask again in crowded indoor public spaces is a good way to protect yourself until the wave is done.
(3/17)
(1/8) We released a new Science Brief today on the impact of physical activity on mental health outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic. Read it here: covid19-sciencetable.ca/sciencebrief/t…
(2/8) Physical activity, sedentary behaviour and mental health status worsened among Canadians during the COVID-19 pandemic.
(3/8) Stay at home orders, as well as closures of indoor and outdoor recreation and community spaces to reduce COVID-19 transmission globally and in Ontario impacted physical activity and increased sedentary behaviours.
(1/11) We released new COVID-19 modelling for Ontario today. Key findings: we are well into wave 6 driven by highly transmissible BA.2 subvariant, waning immunity and lifting of public health measures. Follow this thread for more results covid19-sciencetable.ca/sciencebrief/u…
(2/11) There is significant uncertainty around the impact of case growth on our health system and deaths.
(3/11) Ontario’s COVID-19 wastewater signal increased, but growth has slowed down, suggesting that community transmission may have peaked.
2/5 The brief includes global & Ontario data gathered during the pandemic showing sharp increases in screen time for children & youth, especially during the closures of in-person learning and recreation.
3/5 Too much screen time has physical, mental and cognitive health harms. While this varies based on many factors, what is constant is that todays’ children and youth are exceeding screen time recommendations.