Vaccination efforts stepped up but COVID-19 still a threat

Health authorities have stepped up COVID-19 vaccination efforts as a consistent spread of new infections and related deaths continue.

As a result, the Public Health Agency of Canada urges caution in the lifting of anti-pandemic restrictions.

Dr. Theresa Tam, the country's chief public health officer, has repeated a warning that the vast majority of Canadians can still get COVID-19.

She says infections had been declining nationally from mid-January through mid-February, but have now levelled off.

She says "with the continued increase of cases and outbreaks associated with more contagious variants, we must all remain vigilant with public health measures and individual precautions to prevent a rapid shift in trajectory of the epidemic."

To date, Canada has seen almost 894 thousand cases of COVID-19 with 22 thousand, 300 deaths.