“As restrictive public health measures are being lifted… we expect to see some resurgence of cases,” Tam said during a technical briefing on Monday.
Tam said the key to fighting the pandemic is to keep the number of cases small through ongoing core public health practices.
She commended public and the public health system for withstanding the first wave of the pandemic, noting that the severity of the second wave will rest on collective responsibility.
However, despite the generally positive outlook, some hotspots remain in Canada. The Windsor-Essex area - affecting mostly temporary foreign workers on farms and other agricultural facilities - and some long-term care facilities in Quebec are still beset by infections.
Canadian health officials said they project more than 4,300 additional cases of the novel coronavirus disease and approximately 340 more virus-related deaths by mid-July.
The projections, released by the Public Health Agency of Canada, revealed that the number of confirmed infections will range between 103,940 to 108,130, while the number of deaths is expected to fall in the 8,545 to 8,865 range by 15 July.
As of Monday, Canada’s public health agencies have reported nearly 104,000 novel coronavirus cases and more than 8,500 virus-related fatalities.
