The spectre of a 2nd wave of coronavirus cases in Canada has federal officials concerned.

Chief Public Health officer Dr. Theresa Tam says since the
last modelling update in mid-August, the national daily case count has been increasing at an accelerated rate. She says, over the past seven days, an average of 1,058 cases were reported daily compared to 380 cases daily in mid-August.

She says the incidents will continue to accelerate, unless public health and individual protective measures are strengthened.

The new modelling data shows a shift in demographics.
Tam says when the virus first arrived, elderly people were the hardest hit, but not now.
In June, as incident rates in adults over 80 began to sharply decline, increasing incidents were occuring in younger adults. In particular, those aged 20 to 39 years old have had the highest incident rates throughout the summer months.

The model also suggests anywhere between 151,000 and 156,000 cases by October 2nd, with between 9,220 and 9,00 deaths.

Federal Procurement Minister Anita Annand says Canada has secured access to a minimum 154 million doses of vaccine and up to 262 million doses of potential vaccines.

As well, the government has contracted the supply of 150 thousand vials of remdesivir, the only drug known to help with the symptoms of the virus.

[cjgx]