(Quebec) Quebec has asked Public Health to provide it with a “step-by-step” plan for ending mask wearing. The first step being the abandonment of face coverings in class for elementary and secondary students after the school break, starting March 7.
Posted at 8:03 a.m.
Updated at 4:01 p.m.
The Minister of Health and Social Services, Christian Dubé, and the Minister of Education, Jean-François Roberge, confirmed on Tuesday that the mask will fall in class as of March 7. Face coverings will be maintained in common areas, when traveling and during school transportation. For students who will already be on leave at this time, the measure will come into effect the following Monday, March 14.
“I think the first step [vers le retrait du port du masque]it is the one we live today with [l’abandon] in class,” said Minister Dubé. He opened the door to “a step-by-step mask removal plan” in other sectors of activity. Mr. Dubé said he asked the acting national director of public health, Dr.r Luc Boileau, to provide him with a timetable for this.
“What we asked him is to say how he sees the different stages [vers le retrait du masque] because removing a mask in class versus [enlever] a mask in public transport is completely different, ”explained Mr. Dubé, inviting us to question the Dr Boileau on the subject on Wednesday.
The Dr Luc Boileau must take stock of the evolution of the pandemic on Wednesday in Montreal. Moreover, with the relaxation of the measures, the Legault government will hold fewer and fewer press briefings on COVID-19.
Last week, the Dr Boileau had said he wanted to keep “a gradual side” regarding the lifting of the mask. He specified that he had no intention, at this stage, of lifting use before March 14 in the general population. “We would be very happy for the situation to evolve quickly, positively, to revise the recommendations to be made to the government,” he said on February 15.
Effects of the break?
Minister Dubé does not hide that a “small rise” in cases is possible when students return to class after school break when they will no longer wear the mask. But, the current context is “completely different” from that of last year, he assures.
“With the whole question of Omicron, the number of people who have caught the virus in the last few months, the vaccination… I think the context is different and I think we are even more ready to face bad weather. Our health care system has improved a lot over the past few months. […] I am very, very comfortable in the situation we are in today,” he added.
Friday, the Dr Boileau also said that the fact that well over 2 million Quebecers, including many children, have already been infected with Omicron could influence his decision in favor of removing the mask in class. The recent data also show a drop in the number of children reported sick in Quebec, had also underlined the Dr Boileau interviewed at The Press.
“The question is always: when is the right time,” said virologist Benoit Barbeau. ” [Après la relâche], it’s already better than today. The closer we get to spring and milder temperatures, the more it means that in establishments where there may be ventilation problems […]we can open the windows, for example”, he illustrates.
It has to be done at some point and it follows the current trend of the government to move towards an almost complete absence of restrictions in mid-March.
Benoit Barbeau, professor in the department of biological sciences at UQAM
Reserves in the middle
The Centrale des unions du Québec (CSQ) also wonders why the authorities did not wait another week after the break to abandon the mask when contacts will be more numerous during the holidays. The union believes that this is certainly good news for young people, for socialization and learning, but that some concerns remain on the ground.
“The outbreaks are not over, it is still a lot in the school environment, so we have expert information which justifies [le retrait du masque]but on the other hand, it remains that it is a novelty to which we must adapt and at school, the ventilation is not better. […] We are happy, but it is a bit of the unknown, ”said CSQ president Éric Gingras.
At the Quebec Federation of Educational Establishment Directors (FQDE), we are happy with the announcement, but we are a little worried that the absenteeism rate will start to rise again. “We still expect the absence rate to go up a bit. We are told that it should not be so important, so we will see on the ground, but it is good news, ”underlines the president, Nicolas Prévost.
The FQDE currently lists some 1,600 student absences per week due to COVID-19. This is half as much as at the height of the Omicron wave, in January. Teachers and staff will continue to wear the mask despite the discontinuation of students wearing face coverings in class.
Balance sheet down
The 30 new deaths reported on Tuesday brought the daily average calculated over 7 days to 17. The trend is down 44% over a period of one week. There was also a decrease of 34 hospitalizations. To date, 1,742 patients are still hospitalized in connection with COVID-19, of which 107 are in intensive care (-12). For the time being, the 1,742 people hospitalized represent a decrease of 15% over one week, and the 107 patients in intensive care represent a decrease of 19%. Authorities recorded 1,438 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, bringing the average to 1,665, down 30% over one week. Limitations on screening, however, make these data less representative.
Henri Ouellette-VezinaThe Press