Quebec’s director of public health, Dr. Luc Boileau, is scheduled to give an update on the province’s COVID-19 situation at 2 p.m. Thursday amid rising hospitalizations.
He is expected to be accompanied by Dr. Nicolas Brousseau, public health specialist at the Institut national de santé publique du Québec (INSPQ) and secretary of the Quebec Immunization Committee.
It comes after Quebec reported 14 new deaths due to COVID-19 and a sharp increase in hospitalizations on Wednesday.
There are now more than 2,000 people in hospital, 679 of which are mainly due to COVID-19.
Nevertheless, the rate of community spread has slowed in the Greater Montreal area, northern Quebec and the Outaouais region, according to Dr. Marie-France Reynaud, a senior adviser at the Ministry of Health.
In Abitibi-Témiscamingue, infection rates are declining, but the situation remains volatile and there are concerns in the Quebec City area.
As of Wednesday, 7,211 health workers remain absent in Quebec for reasons related to COVID-19, such as precautionary withdrawal or because they are in isolation.
Reynaud says the situation in hospitals is complicated by the lack of staff and the high level of transmission in the community, although that doesn’t make people extremely sick.
However, Reynaud says she doesn’t recommend reinstating mandatory masking because she believes more in education.
However, she believes people should wear masks when in crowded places.
Since the start of the pandemic in March 2020, COVID-19 has claimed 15,814 lives in Quebec.
— This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on July 21, 2022.
Add Comment