The meteoric growth of the Omicron variant in the world does not spare Quebec: this variant is now strongly dominant in the province, according to the National Institute of Public Health of Quebec (INSPQ).
“Sentinel laboratory analyzes reveal a very rapid progression of the Omicron variant, with a prevalence of around 80%, and this barely three weeks after the first confirmed case in Quebec,” writes the INSPQ in a note sent to the media on Tuesday. . This means that 8 out of 10 SARS-CoV-2 infections are attributed to the Omicron variant. ”
The institute notes that the first case of the Omicron variant in Quebec was confirmed by genome sequencing on November 29. “A screening test was used to detect presumptive Omicron cases from positive SARS-CoV-2 cases of travelers and their contacts,” writes the INSPQ.
Virologist Benoit Barbeau, professor in the department of biological sciences at the University of Quebec at Montreal (UQAM) says this new variant is so transmissible that he would not be surprised if the number of positive cases per day were to approach 10,000. in Quebec over the next few weeks. “The Omicron explosion looks set to continue,” he said.
In Quebec, hospitalizations for COVID-19 are on the rise: there are 415 hospitalizations in progress as of Tuesday, against 227 at the beginning of December.
Note that the infection toll increased by 5,043 new cases reported on Tuesday; the number of COVID-19 cases has doubled in a week.