The strong upward trend of COVID-19 is reaching unprecedented levels, as cases more than doubled in one week in Quebec. After crossing the threshold of 5,000 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, the province is expected to reach the threshold of 6,000 new cases on Wednesday. Prime Minister François Legault will take stock of the situation on Wednesday at 6 p.m.
Government sources have in fact confirmed to Press, at the end of the day on Tuesday, that more than 6,000 new cases would likely be reported on Wednesday.
The 5,043 new cases reported on Tuesday brought the daily average to 3,711. The trend increased 111% over one week. In other words, the cases have more than doubled in the past week. The eight additional deaths reported on Tuesday bring the daily average to five, a trend that is also up from last week.
In the health network, the number of hospitalizations has exceeded the 400 mark since Tuesday, while we have seen an increase of 18 in this area, which translates into 59 new admissions and 41 discharges.
At the latest news, 415 patients were hospitalized in connection with the virus, including 88 in intensive care, an increase of 6 people in 24 hours. The 415 people hospitalized represent an increase of 42% over one week. And the 88 in intensive care are up 17%.
Prime Minister Legault confirmed that his government would make its decisions for the rest on Wednesday. “As in many places in the world, Quebec is faced with very difficult choices. What guides us is the capacity that we will or will not have to treat sick Quebecers in the coming weeks. We come back to you tomorrow with our decisions, ”he wrote on Twitter.
According to our information, the new projections of hospitalizations, which were presented to the Legault government on Monday evening, would be particularly worrying. These models, which should be decisive for the future, will be presented shortly. The Minister of Health and Social Services, Christian Dubé, immediately warned Monday that these forecasts “will probably not be encouraging, given the force with which the variant will strike”.
Moreover, the Omicron variant now has “a prevalence of around 80%, barely three weeks after the first confirmed case in Quebec,” wrote the INSPQ in a note sent to the media on Tuesday. This means that “eight out of ten SARS-CoV-2 infections are attributed” to this variant.
Of the 5,043 new cases reported, 3,586 were doubly vaccinated, 238 partially vaccinated and 1219 unvaccinated. Given their smaller number, the unvaccinated however represent nearly 400 cases per million inhabitants, while the vaccinated represent only 140. The majority of new hospital admissions, 32 for the day of Monday, also come from the unvaccinated, who are always much more likely to suffer complications after contracting the virus. An unvaccinated person is 15 times more likely to be hospitalized, on average. The third dose of the vaccine increases protection against infection with the Omicron variant from about 30% in two doses to 75% with all three doses, according to figures presented by the government on Monday.
Acceleration of vaccination
As for vaccination, the pace is accelerating. The authorities have indeed administered 73,188 additional doses on Monday, to which are added 3,168 vaccines given before December 20 which had not yet been counted. Including people vaccinated outside the province, nearly 14.7 million doses have been administered to Quebecers so far.
On Twitter, Christian Dubé also confirmed Tuesday that more than 315,000 Quebecers had made an appointment to get their vaccine on Monday alone. ” It’s a record ! Also, more than 73,000 people received a dose [lundi], and of these, nearly 64,000 showed up for their third dose. We are committed to resume our cruising speed quickly with the reinforcements, ”he said in a tweet.
The youth campaign, however, is progressing more slowly than before. To date, 53% of young people aged 5 to 11 have had a dose, while 3% of them are waiting for an appointment. In the general population, 84.2% of Quebecers are partially vaccinated and 78.4% of them are fully vaccinated. About 8.6% of the population has already received three doses.
Public Health for its part carried out 42,303 screening tests on Sunday, a relatively stable figure compared to the weekly average. The positivity rate still exceeds 10% in Quebec.
The cases are still very concentrated in the Montreal region, which has more than 9,100 active cases according to data from the National Institute of Public Health, or nearly 450 infections per 100,000 inhabitants.
On Monday, the province also shattered a record by registering some 4,571 cases of COVID-19. Under pressure, Minister Dubé announced that bars, casinos, cinemas, gyms and theaters would close at 5 p.m. Monday evening. Elementary and secondary schools have also closed until January 10. For schools whose return is planned before, teaching will be virtual.
With Pierre-André Normandin, Press