Canada marked Boxing Day by crossing another COVID-19 milestone, surpassing two million total cases despite many jurisdictions not reporting numbers over the holiday weekend, and as hospitals brace for the still unknown impact on admissions.
Health care staff and governments are on edge as they wait to see whether the sharp rise in case counts will have a domino effect on hospitals and intensive-care units. A steady number of international studies show that the new Omicron variant of COVID-19 leads to fewer severe cases, but with the sheer number of infections, even a smaller ratio of people getting very sick could swamp hospitals.
