Canada's top doctors say they're striving for a best-case scenario but preparing for the worst: a so-called "fall peak" of COVID-19 cases across the country that threatens to overwhelm the public health-care system. Chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam and deputy public health officer Dr. Howard Njoo presented new modelling on the coronavirus on Friday, flagging a potential surge in cases several times worse than what we've seen so far in Canada. Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) documents show officials are aiming for a "slow burn" scenario, in which the number of cases remains low, so that the public health-care system can deal with the influx of patients. WATCH | Chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam on potential COVID-19 surge:Chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam says her team is striving for a best-case scenario but preparing for the worst: a so-called "fall peak" of COVID-19 cases across the country. Provincial Health Officer Bonnie Henry said the province's contact-tracing efforts could help reduce the number of transmissions.

Source: CBC News August 14, 2020 14:30 UTC