Quebec has not yet entered a sixth wave of COVID-19, but is slowly approaching it, said acting national director of public health Luc Boileau on Sunday.
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“I cannot officially confirm that this is a sixth wave,” said Dr. Boileau during a press briefing aimed at taking stock of the spread of the virus.
The rapid rise in infections in the province, deemed “worrying” by the official, is largely attributable to the spread of the BA.2 subvariant, derived from the Omicron variant of COVID-19.
“At least two-thirds of COVID cases are BA.2 cases in Quebec,” said Dr. Boileau on Sunday, recalling that the new variant would be at least 40% more contagious than Omicron.
Due to the spread of the virus, 107 new hospitalizations linked to COVID-19 on Saturday, a high since the fifth wave. “It is a number that concerns us. Since last Monday, it’s different from the trend of other weeks. We see that it goes back, ”acknowledged the public health official.
Consequently, Quebecers should expect to have to continue to wear their mask at least until April 15, acknowledged the national director. Recall that the government had previously hinted that the mandatory wearing of a mask could be lifted before mid-April, in the event of an improvement in the data on the spread of the virus.
“With the lifting of most of the measures, we were preparing for an increase in cases. It was expected,” recalled Dr. Boileau.
Moreover, the health network is particularly affected.
“In less than a week, we have around 60% more leave for health workers due to COVID,” said the director of public health. Thus, 8,600 healthcare workers are absent from work due to the virus.
For the moment, the increase in cases and hospitalizations is mainly concentrated in the eastern regions of the province, while the metropolis seems relatively spared.