Coronavirus: What's happening in Canada and around the world on Jan. 29

The latest:

• How Canada can avoid past mistakes as COVID-19 restrictions lift.

• Thousands of protesters opposed to COVID-19 rules descend on Parliament Hill.

• Health minister says vaccines are not 'the enemy' amid convoy protest.

• Early evidence that boosters seem to hold up against Omicron subvariant BA.2.

Canada's chief public health officer is warning COVID-19 "severity trends" are still rising despite signs therecent wave of transmissions driven by the highly transmissible Omicron variant has peaked.

"Although daily reported cases remain at record high levels and continue to underestimate the true number of infections, there are some hopeful signs of continued decline in disease transmission, nationally," Dr. Theresa Tam tweeted on Saturday.

Tam said Friday new infections have dropped significantly over the past week, pointing to test positivity rates and wastewater surveillance trends as signs Canada is now through the worst of the Omicron wave.

However, Tam said Saturday that "severity trends" such as hospitalizations, ICU admissions and deaths are trending in the wrong direction.

Hospitalizations and deaths are usually a lagging indicator, peaking a few weeks after infections, according to experts.

Experts also sayhospitalizations area more accurate barometer of the disease's impactthan case countsdue to limited and varying testing capacities across the country.

Tam on Saturday again encouraged Canadians to get their vaccination shots and booster if they haven't already.

Her plea comes a day after the National Advisory Committee on Immunization said in updated guidance that adolescents 12 to 17 years old who are especially vulnerable to COVID-19 should get booster shots.

What's happening across Canada

With lab-based testing capacity deeply strained and increasingly restricted,experts say true case counts are likely far higher than reported. Hospitalization data at the regional level is also evolving, with several provinces saying they will reportfiguresthat separatethe number of people in hospital because of COVID-19 from those in hospital for another medical issue who alsotest positive for COVID-19.

• Track how many people have been given the COVID-19 vaccine across Canada

For more information on what is happening in your community including details on outbreaks, testing capacity and local restrictions click through to the regional coverage below.

You can also read more from thePublic Health Agency of Canada, whichprovides a detailed look at every regionincludingseven-day averagetest positivity ratesin itsdaily epidemiological updates.

WATCH |Epidemiologist pushes back against endemic talk:

Epidemiologist pushes back against talk of COVID-19 becoming endemic

3 years ago

Duration 1:47

Dr. Christopher Labos, an epidemiologist and cardiologist in Montreal, says it's too early to think COVID-19 will become a more stable and predictable endemic disease, because the world could see new variants.

In British Columbia,an updated provincial health order now requires childrenage 12 to only have one dose of a vaccine to enter an event or setting where proof of vaccination is required.

In the Prairies, the premier of Saskatchewan is vowing toend the province's proof of vaccine policy in the"not-too-distant future,"currentpublic health orders in Manitoba were extended for at least another week and wastewater tests in Alberta suggests cases are declining in Calgary and Edmonton.

In Canada's two largest provinces,Ontario said there were 3,439 hospitalizations on Saturday, along with 56 new deaths, while the same figures in Quebec were2,975 and 66.

In the Atlantic,COVID-19 hospitalizations and active case counts inNewfoundland and Labradorhave both dipped since Friday;Nova Scotia is reporting 87 people in designated COVID-19 units; Prince Edward Island confirmed the province's 10th coronavirus deathsince the start of the pandemic; and schools in New Brunswick are set to reopen on Monday.

In the North, some schools in the Northwest Territories will be allowed to return to in-person classes on Monday. Meanwhile, documents obtained by CBC News showed a third of rapid tests shipped to Yukon were distributed to mines, sparking criticism.

What's happening around the world

As of Saturday, more than370.8million cases of COVID-19 had been reported worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins University's case-tracking tool. The reported global death toll stood at more than 5.65 million.

In the Americas,Omicronis driving the daily U.S. death toll higher than during last fall's delta wave, with deaths likely to keep rising for days or even weeks.

In Europe, Russia confirmed 113,122 new daily infections, setting a record high for a ninth consecutive day.

In Asia,dozens of pet stores that sold hamsters in Hong Kong may resume business from Sunday, Hong Kong's government said, after being shuttered last week and thousandsculledover coronavirus fears.

In Africa,Nigeria's vaccine rollout has slowly gained pace as public confidence increases and the government has assured citizens they will not receive expired doses.