The Legault government will undoubtedly add some health measures during its press briefing on Thursday at 5 p.m. and an expert looked at the measures that could be added to reduce the number of COVID-19 cases.
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“Even though we have about 900 hospitalizations, it’s a low number, but the problem is the 86,000 active cases that continue to increase every day, so it’s hard to get back in control. To avoid a greater number of hospitalizations, there must first be fewer people catching it, ”explains Marc Hamilton, microbiologist and president of Eurofins EnvironeX.
Adding a curfew
The curfew was already in place last winter in an attempt to control the number of new outbreaks. The microbiologist thinks that the curfew could precisely be a measure to prevent the daily number of new cases from continuing to increase, especially as New Year’s Day approaches.
“We know that tomorrow (December 31), there will be a lot of people coming together. We are talking about a maximum of six people, but six people who have already seen each other at Christmas or during the Holidays and will see each other again. It is to avoid this hemorrhage of positive cases which will take place next week and I believe that the curfew is there to discourage people, ”says the expert.
Closing of restaurants
According to this expert, restaurants are not directly linked to this increase in COVID-19 cases.
“Scientifically it’s hard to prove that it’s because of restaurants or other types of hangouts that accentuate the positive cases. I believe the government is adopting an all or nothing strategy. In other words, all places where people can congregate for more than 15 minutes in the same place risk closing, ”he says.
Closing of stores
The closure of all stores is not a solution considered by the government according to this expert since customers are constantly on the move and do not stay in a store for very long.
“Certain types of stores risk being opened for these reasons for others, they could be affected a bit as we knew last spring”, underlines the microbiologist.
Back to school
Even if Prime Minister François Legault recalls that his number one objective since the start of the pandemic has been to keep children in school as long as possible, this expert has difficulty seeing a scenario where young people could return on the school benches by the end of January.
“The vaccination is not over for 5 to 11 year olds. The virus is known to attack them a lot these days. If there are a lot of outbreaks in elementary and secondary schools and the children bring the virus home, the positive cases are perpetuated. I think that by the end of January, there will not be much that will change at the school level, ”adds this specialist.