The actual daily number of cases of the Omicron variant could be 40,000, not 15,000, experts estimate.
• Read also: Faced with the Omicron surge, simplified isolation rules to avoid paralysis
• Read also: Over 2,600 flights canceled in US due to Omicron and weather
• Read also: COVID-19: British Minister of Health calls to “live with” the virus
“The reality is that there are roughly 40,000 cases per day. Not all asymptomatic cases are tested. Then people [font des prélèvements] at home with rapid tests and not going to pass PCR tests [qui permettraient à Québec de les comptabiliser] “, Warned the DD Cécile Tremblay, microbiologist-infectious disease specialist at the Center hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal, on LCN, Sunday morning.
Photo QMI Agency, Marc Vallières
Many had to turn back to Lévis, the clinic being unable to accommodate more patients.
After reaching an official record of contamination on Saturday, with 17,122 cases, the situation seemed to have improved very slightly on Sunday, with 15,845 new infections. However, it should be noted that approximately 4,300 fewer screening tests were performed compared to the previous day.
Unreliable figures
But, for Cécile Tremblay, the figures communicated every day by the government of Quebec “are more or less reliable now”, since many cases are not counted.
An opinion shared by several experts, including epidemiologist Nîma Machouf, who thinks that the estimate of DD Tremblay probably reflects reality.
Photo QMI Agency, Mario Beauregard
The line outside seemed endless on Sunday at the Chauveau clinic in eastern Montreal, with hours of waiting.
“In a family where a little girl brings COVID home, five out of six have COVID, but only the little girl is registered with Public Health because the others remained confined and passed rapid tests” , illustrates the specialist.
To get a better picture of the situation, hospitalizations are a real indicator of seriousness, explains Cécile Tremblay.
“We can actually count them. There is no shortage of them when they are hospitalized, ”she says.
On Sunday, the number of hospital admissions was down for a second day in a row, with 207 admissions, against 137 discharges. As of December 31, Quebec reported a peak of 261 admissions.
Despite everything, the load shedding in hospitals continues to accelerate, especially at the CHU de Québec-Université Laval, which will almost halve medical appointments and operating room activities this week.
Endless lines
For the Dr Jesse Papenburg, pediatric infectious disease specialist and microbiologist at the Montreal Children’s Hospital, transmission in the province has truly gotten out of hand.
“It was predictable,” he maintains.
Sunday, although the mercury dropped below -10 ° C, the queues at the screening clinics were never empty and the exasperation was at its height.
“They say stay with you. What are we doing here on the curb? At one point … We are in 2022 and that borders on the ridiculous “, launched a man met by TVA Nouvelles.
Photo QMI Agency, Mario Beauregard
It was also heating up quite a bit on Sunday at the Parc-Extension CLSC.
This construction worker, who said he had a fever, had been waiting for more than two hours in front of the Chauveau screening clinic, in east Montreal.
“When you are sick, have a fever, have symptoms and no energy, you have no energy to wait three or four hours to find out if you are sick”, he continued very emotional.