OTTAWA, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) -- Increased vigilance is needed now and over the coming weeks as "exponential growth of Omicron" predominates across Canada, said Chief Public Health Officer Theresa Tam.

In a statement on Friday, the health officer stressed that the Omicron variant spreads extremely quickly and the number of infected people can rise rapidly.

During the period between Dec. 30 and Jan. 5, the latest data from the Public Health Agency of Canada showed that a daily average of 41,743 new cases and 3,646 hospitalizations were reported, up 65 percent and 91 percent respectively from the previous week.

Among those hospitalized, 594 people received treatment in intensive care units on average, up by 25 percent.

Voicing concern over the severe trends, Tam said that the sudden acceleration of Omicron and enormous caseload could add an additional strain on the healthcare system.

"This is both because of increased hospital admissions and high numbers of illness and absenteeism among health care workers, which is expected to impact many areas of the country over the coming weeks," she added.

As of Thursday, Canada has administered over 69 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines. Over 83 percent of the country's total population have received at least one dose and more than 77 percent have been fully vaccinated.

The country reported 34,908 new COVID-19 infections on Friday afternoon, bringing the cumulative total to 2,472,741 with 30,657 deaths, according to CTV news.