Le masque restera obligatoire pendant encore au moins deux semaines au Québec, jusqu’au 14 mai. Jugeant que le pic de la sixième vague est atteint, la Santé publique s’engage toutefois à rendre une décision « finale » au gouvernement dès le début de la semaine prochaine.
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« Considérant qu’il faut demeurer prudents, on persiste à maintenir le masque obligatoire dans les lieux publics comme le transport collectif, jusqu’au 14 mai. On veut de la prévisibilité. Notre orientation finale sera prise en début de semaine prochaine », a expliqué le directeur national de santé publique par intérim, le Dr Luc Boileau, lors d’une conférence de presse jeudi.
« On anticipe réellement qu’on sera capable de le retirer le 14 mai prochain. […] We do not see things that can derail this intention. On the other hand, we want to be serious, we always are, ”he then clarified, speaking of “common sense”.
Mr. Boileau also judged that the sixth wave of COVID-19 is “in the process of being controlled” in Quebec “. “We estimate that the peak is in all likelihood behind us. It’s not over, but the progress now seems to be more positive, and that’s good,” he said. According to him, Quebec is in fact on a “plateau which tends to want to descend”. “However, we must be aware that we are in a pandemic period. And there are many people who are infected every day.”
“That said, several of our indicators show a decline in contagiousness among the general population and other groups such as the elderly, students, elementary and secondary school students, or even health care workers,” he added.
Currently in Quebec, it is estimated that 5 to 10% of cases reported daily are “re-infections”, mainly with BA.2, even if people have experienced “a recent infection with Omicron “said the D.r Boileau.
“Protection after infection is not a question of time, but above all of variation. Unfortunately, we cannot know, when there is an overlap between two variants, which affected us. Someone who has done BA.1 can do BA2 and we consider that from two months, he can start to re-infect, “said the clinical expert in support of the scientific management of the pandemic, Jean Longtin. .
The latter specified that isolation during symptoms will be the most “important” in the coming weeks. “We would like it to become a normal reflex in fact, regardless of the virus,” he said, mentioning that this recommendation is “very likely” there to stay in the long term.
Quebec more cautious than elsewhere
In March, Quebec had indicated that wearing a mask would end “no later than mid-April” in all public places, but the sixth wave of COVID-19 – powered by the BA.2 variant – finally turned the rules upside down. planes. Mandatory wearing therefore remained in place.
Currently, Quebec is the only place in Canada to mandate the wearing of masks in public places, with the exception of Prince Edward Island, which plans to stop requiring it. on May 6, according to what the provincial government announced earlier this week.
In Alberta and Saskatchewan, the mask is no longer required since 1er March. British Columbia dropped this measure on March 11, followed by New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador on March 14, Manitoba on March 15, Yukon on March 18, Ontario and Nova Scotia March 21, Northwest Territories March 1er April and Nunavut on April 11.
This all comes as the downward trend of COVID-19 seems to be confirmed in Quebec. The province reported a further decline in new cases and hospitalizations on Thursday, while deaths appear to be plateauing. The number of people hospitalized should also continue to decrease over the next few days, with the number of admissions continuing to be lower than discharges. On average, there are 11 fewer patients every day.
With Pierre-André Normandin and Suzanne Colpron, The Press