Article content It’s the most fearful rhetoric about new variants that Canadians have been exposed to yet. Is it true? Are her remarks justified? Time will tell, but those who study the big picture of how COVID-19 is playing out around the world were left scratching their heads at what she said. “What I see so far is that the U.K. variant replaces COVID classic, but it doesn’t add to it,” says Dr. Neil Rau, an infectious diseases specialist based out of Halton Healthcare Services. “So the overall trajectory is still favourable.” Rau points to both the U.K. and Denmark, which continue to see a rapid decline in cases.