Nearly 6% of Quebecers were forced to go into isolation last week because of COVID-19, according to the most recent data from the Center interuniversitaire de recherche en analyze des organizations (CIRANO), which has caused a new delay in the economic recovery.
The probability of being in isolation climbs to 11% among 18 to 29 year olds, while it is 6.8% among 30-39 year olds, according to CIRANO statistics.
Nothing surprising for Roxane Borgès Da Silva, one of the co-authors of the study. Young people have been among the most affected by the closure of restaurants, bars and theaters and cinemas. “With the relaxation of sanitary measures, it is certainly those who frequent these spaces the most,” she explains.
Isolation also particularly affects parents of children aged 5 to 12. About 8.4% of them would be forced to stay at home. Again, this proportion is not surprising for Ms. Borgès Da Silva, because “we know that COVID-19 spreads a lot at school”.
With about 6% of Quebecers at home, “that’s a lot of people in isolation in all work sectors,” she notes.
The 6th wave has a “variable geometry” impact, however, underlines the president of the Conseil du patronat du Québec, Karl Blackburn.
In large companies, “people are able to maintain work, to reorganize internally,” he says. Absenteeism is more serious in smaller companies. “When there are five workers in a business, like in a restaurant, and one or two catch COVID-19, in some cases, we have to close until the isolation period ends. »
And then, “in the majority of cases, the symptoms are minor, which does not prevent you from working” if you follow the health instructions, he adds.
These data come from a probability survey.
This text is taken from our newsletter “Coronavirus mail” of April 11, 2022. To subscribe, click here.