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As Canadians hunker down at home and practise social distancing, many are likely wondering whether their efforts are actually helping the health-care system cope with the pandemic.

“Some provinces, such as British Columbia and Alberta, are seeing clear evidence of flattening, while in Ontario and Quebec, cases and deaths continue to increase but not as great as would have been predicted by models even a week ago,” says Vivek Goel, the University of Toronto’s vice-president, research and innovation, and strategic initiatives, and a professor at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health.

“Most heartening to see is that the number of most severe cases in intensive care and on ventilators has remained relatively flat and has not overwhelmed the system as we might have feared a week ago.”

COVID-19: What’s Next is a bi-weekly podcast created by Goel in collaboration with a University of Toronto Communications team led by producer Lisa Lightbourn.

In episode six, Goel – a renowned public health expert and founding head of Public Health Ontario, which was set up in response to the 2003 SARS outbreak – explains what the latest stats show here at home and around the world, why we need to look at trends over time and how, despite this “glimmer of hope,” much work remains to be done.

Note: The information in this podcast is current as of the posting date. Listeners should consult their local public health agency for the latest information in their jurisdiction.

See a complete list of all the podcast episodes