François Legault promises to remain “cautious” in front of “the explosion” of cases associated with the Omicron variant in Ontario. If he admits that the same situation could occur in Quebec, the Prime Minister persists: hospitalizations there remain stable and no tightening is planned for Christmas.
“What is currently happening with the Omicron in Ontario, we can think that it will come here. We must not take it lightly, and we follow it day by day, ”he assured Monday, on the sidelines of a visit to the premises of the Sun Youth organization in Montreal, which prepares and distributes food to the most vulnerable as the holidays approach.
In our neighbors Ontario, the COVID-19 expert panel said Monday that the Omicron variant – first detected in the province in late November – now accounts for 21% of COVID-19 cases in Ontario. Omicron variant cases double every three days. This is a staggering increase, as public health officials counted just 87 cases of the Omicron variant in Canada just days ago.
Across the country, Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer, Dr.D Theresa Tam, believes that Ontario is not an isolated case. She said on Monday that transmission may be lower in other provinces, but that “it’s a matter of time” before they follow in Ontario’s footsteps. The doctor predicts that “in the next few days, we will have a lot more cases” of Omicron.
“Indeed, there is like an explosion of Omicron cases in Ontario. But there is no reason, for the moment, to think that this variant is more dangerous than the Delta or the others. But the fact remains that all the same, we vary around 1,500, 2,000 cases per day, so we must remain cautious, ”insisted Mr. Legault.
Ontario reported 1,536 new cases of COVID-19 and one death from the virus on Monday. The Ministry of Health specifies that 47% of cases concerned people who are not fully vaccinated or whose vaccination status is unknown.
A rise from what height?
Mr. Legault once again implored Quebeckers to limit their gatherings to a maximum of ten people by December 23, when it will then be allowed to increase to 20 people vaccinated. “For the moment, there is no change planned”, he promised to this effect.
The Prime Minister admits it at the outset: “there will be an increase in hospitalizations” in Quebec, but the question is “how high”. “We are at 268 today. Are we going to go to 1500 as in Europe or the United States, or are we going to stay below 500, 1000? This is what the experts are going to tell us, ”he raised, mentioning that he had a meeting scheduled with Dr.r Horacio Arruda Monday evening. The Minister of Health, Christian Dubé, is also due to speak to the media on Tuesday.
As for a possible closure of the border with Ontario, François Legault is closing the door for the moment. “We’re not here now. Yes there are more cases, yes there is a higher percentage of Omicron cases, but what is important is the number of hospitalizations. And on that, the situation is quite similar between Ontario and Quebec, ”he analyzed.
His government recalls that the “priority” remains to vaccinate young people. To date, 41.6% of young people aged 5 to 11 have had their first dose, while 8% of them are currently waiting for their appointment. In the general population, 83.3% of Quebecers have received at least one dose and 78.3% are adequately vaccinated.
With The Canadian Press