Huron Perth Public Health says an accelerated reopening plan in Ontario is good news.
But Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Miriam Klassen, cautions there are still many factors in play.
"Immunity doesn't last and new variants are likely to emerge, meaning that we will have an uneasy coexistence with COVID-19 for some time," Klassen said. "The goal will be to reduce disease burden to a level that our health-care system can manage with minimal public-health measures in place.
Outbreaks in high-risk settings have contributed to high rates of transmission in Huron-Perth during the pandemic's Omicron wave, as more than one-third of the region's total confirmed cases have occurred since January 1st.
Dr. Klassen adds that doesn't even include people outside of high-risk settings who are no longer eligible for the province's most accurate tests.
"It's important that we all remain mindful that COVID-19 is still circulating and is still a serious disease, one that can still lead to hospitalizations and deaths. So we do continue to urge everyone to take all vaccines for which they are eligible."
She says it's likely we will have to learn to live with COVID-19, adding that means there will likely be a COVID-19 vaccine program in place for a very long time.
"Depending on your risk factors, like your age and other conditions like where you live and what is circulating, there will likely be recommendations about receiving additional doses. I think that that is going to become part of our life," concluded Dr. Klassen.