With the words “new normal” being thrown around all the time, Canada’s top doctor gave a summarized definition of what to expect in the next few months.
According to Dr. Theresa Tam, the new normal would include the recognition that COVID-19 has not yet been eliminated.
She says the federal government is looking towards serological surveys to see how much of the population may have been infected in the past.
However, Tam suspects that percentage is going to be relatively low so there’s not going to be a lot of immune people in Canada based on international surveys.
She says the new normal means that extreme caution has to be practiced when it comes to relaxing public health measures.
Tam says Canadians must continue to observe some public health practices like staying home when you’re sick and washing your hands.
She adds, the public will not be seeing mass gatherings anytime soon.
Provinces will continue to look at small gatherings, particularly ones of importance to the cultural and social contexts of Canada, for the possibility of resuming them in a safe way.
She says in this new environment Canadians will continue to see grocery stores with social distance markers, as well as plexiglass to protect workers.
-With files from Catherine Garrett, MyPGNow