Despite the increase in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, the situation remains “under control for the moment” in Quebec, assures the Minister of Health, Christian Dubé. No new health restrictions are planned, even if Public Health admits that the province is officially in a seventh wave.
Posted at 9:08
Updated at 9:47 a.m.
“When I say that the situation is under control for the moment, I am saying at the same time that we must remain very vigilant. We are a few days away from the construction holidays. I repeat: we must respect, among other things, the rules of isolation, which are one of the ways of living with the virus, ”said Mr. Dubé, in a press briefing Thursday morning. “We continue to monitor what is happening in our hospitals. We do not like the increase in cases, but it is still under control,” he insisted.
On the vaccination side, the minister again called on Quebecers to get a booster dose; he will do so on Friday. Quebec will publish a table on the Quebec site this Thursday. ca in order to present to the public “a decision tree that will indicate when is the best time to get your booster dose”. Mr. Dubé hopes to relaunch the vaccination effort across the province.
At his side, the national director of public health, Dr.r Luc Boileau, recognized that for him, this rise in the virus “takes the form of a wave”. “The people from the INSPQ will confirm everything, but for me, it’s a seventh wave,” he added, considering however that this new wave “should, however, begin to decline in the coming weeks”.
PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, THE PRESS
The Dr Luc Boileau
“We had not seen it happen, in all probability, this increase. We were not mistaken, that said, because all countries saw it in the same way, ”also explained the Dr Boileau. He foresees another rise in the virus this fall, except that “this time, we will have crossed this wave”. “And for the moment, we don’t see a new variant on the horizon that would take up all the space. »
“It already exceeds what we had in the fourth wave. We have more cases, more hospitalizations too, ”he admitted, recalling that certain variants propel this new increase. “The virus is there, it is transmitted, it circulates. The pandemic is not over,” he insisted.
“When you have a COVID, whether with the variants before or those of the current one, the symptoms last ten days. First of all, you have to isolate yourself for five days, and the other five, you have to be very careful with others. Take a quick test, certainly, but it could be negative at the beginning and positive later, ”still raised the Dr Boileau, emphasizing the importance of following the instructions and getting vaccinated with a booster dose.
A rising viral load
Since mid-June, the viral load of the coronavirus responsible for COVID-19 detected in the wastewater of the main cities of Quebec points to an explosion in the spread, reported The Press Thursday.
The number of hospitalizations has already been increasing for four weeks in the health network. And according to the most recent projections from the National Institute of Excellence in Health and Social Services (INESSS), Quebec can expect an increase in the number of hospitalizations to around 170 per day within two weeks. . What’s more, the health system must also deal with a significant shortage of personnel. There are currently more than 7,000 workers absent for reasons related to COVID-19.
This new surge in infections appears to be fueled by the increased spread of new Omicron subvariants. The main subvariant currently in circulation, BA.2.12.1, accounted for 36% of cases as of mid-June. However, he seemed to be losing momentum. Detected more recently, BA.4 and BA.5 accounted for 33% of new cases, but they are gaining ground.
At present, Quebec is not considering expanding access to PCR screening tests, which are only open to health care workers and certain more vulnerable populations. “Could it be again? Maybe, but not for the moment, ”said Mr. Dubé, saying he relies on the analysis of wastewater and self-diagnostics of rapid online tests.