HALIFAX: The chief medical officer of health said it’s not just a single number public health looks for when determining if they can ease COVID-19 restrictions to allow for large gatherings.
At the May 25 COVID-19 briefing, Dr. Robert Strang was asked by The Laker News what number of new cases public health would need to see to allow for an increase in gathering limits to the 250–500-person range for outdoor sporting events, such as weekly racing events or school prom events.
Here is video of our question on gathering limits at the 1:31 mark. Video edited by Dagley Media.
“There’s a number of epidemiologic indicators that we look for, along with our vaccine uptake,” said Dr. Strang. “I think knowing what we know about the virus, and how it is spread most easily when you bring large numbers of people together, often in close contact with each other, often indoors, I’ve said many times and in public health across the country, people are saying the same thing.
“Large gatherings especially indoors are probably going to be one of the last things we’ll be able to safely bring back. That’s likely into the fall when we have a high level of uptake with two doses of vaccines.”
