Quebec calls for caution in Estrie, where the situation “has deteriorated for a few weeks” with a sharp rise in cases of COVID-19, the worst in the province behind Nunavik. Rapid tests will be deployed in schools for students and their “contact cases”, in order to reduce traffic in screening centers.
“If we go back a month, the number of daily cases was 35. Today, we are more or less 93 daily cases. The situation is still quite serious. We must take note of what is happening, ”explained the Minister of Transport and responsible for the Estrie region, François Bonnardel, during a press briefing held in Sherbrooke at the end of Thursday afternoon.
The member for Granby said he was particularly concerned about three “more problematic” sub-regions, namely the Sources sector (914 active cases per 100,000), Granit (614 active cases per 100,000) and Memphrémagog (351 active cases per 100,000). 100,000). The first two have a much lower vaccination rate than elsewhere, with vaccination rates 10% lower than the provincial average. This is also the case for Haut-Saint-François.
We have a situation which is still quite serious. We have to be able to find the vaccination levels found everywhere in Quebec.
François Bonnardel, Minister responsible for Estrie
It is also the 5 to 11 year-olds who seem to be the most affected, as everywhere in Quebec. “They are in 35% of the cases that we have”, warned Mr. Bonnardel. The second most affected group, the 18-49 year olds, accounts for 12% of infections.
The school network in question
At his side, the director of public health in Estrie, Dr Alain Poirier, confirmed that the majority of the 60 outbreaks, or 30 of them, are in schools and especially primary. “Rapid tests” will be deployed in the next week in these settings. They will also be available for case-contacts of students, in particular their parents, with the aim of “empowering the school network”.
“Color codes have disappeared in Quebec. But if we used them, we would not be bad in the dark ”, added the D.r Poirier, confirming at the same time that about 9,000 young people have made an appointment to be vaccinated since November 23, out of the 36,700 children aged 5 to 11 that are found in the territory.
Will we be quick enough with a dose to prevent a fifth wave? The future will tell us, but we wouldn’t want to go through what Europeans are going through at the moment.
The Dr Alain Poirier
Because he wants to “close as few as possible” schools in the coming weeks, the expert calls for the empowerment of the population. “There is a school disorganization currently, and that causes a lot of stress,” he recalled, pleading for the strict and disciplined application of health measures, including the wearing of masks and distancing.
Despite everything, Mr. Poirier assures that there will be no repressive approaches, such as the containment of unvaccinated people in Austria, even in regions with more transmission. “There is no coercive measure in sight, by any means, let alone for toddlers because parents are even more hesitant. Rather, you have to try to understand and explain the situation, ”he said.
In figures, the state of affairs
Estrie is currently reporting 22 new cases per 100,000 inhabitants. Cases have increased by 36% over the past week. According to the most recent data from the National Institute of Public Health of Quebec (INSPQ), Estrie also currently has 989 active cases of COVID-19, a ratio of approximately 199 infections per 100,000 inhabitants.
This is the second highest figure of any region in Quebec in this regard, after Nunavik, which currently has 1,103 active cases per 100,000 inhabitants and where a first death linked to the virus has been observed in the last few days.
So far, the authorities have identified 383 deaths related to the disease in Estrie, of which 121 have occurred in a private residence for the elderly (RPA) and 133 in a CHSLD.