Health minister urges Quebecers not to panic, as COVID-19 cases soar
CBC
Quebec's health minister is urging people not to panic even though the province recorded the highest number of new COVID-19 cases since mid-January on Thursday.
"We're exactly where we should be," Christian Dubé told reporters at a Thursday scrum at the National Assembly.
"We were expecting this ... an increase of cases, but relative stability in the number of hospitalizations. So I think we're OK so far."
Dubé noted the majority of the 1,807 new cases identified Thursday are among unvaccinated people and children, who, in some cases, transmitted the virus to their parents.
According to a government health-care research institute, the number of cases in the province increased sharply by 29 per cent compared to last week.
The number of new hospitalizations could increase across the province in the coming weeks, the institute, known by its French acronym INESSS, said in a projections report released Thursday.
Still, compared to the second wave of the pandemic, the report revealed hospitalizations are down 81 per cent.
For the past two months, according to INESSS, the proportion of cases requiring hospitalization has been declining, due in part to the increase in cases among children, who are less likely to require hospitalization if they contract COVID-19.
Over the past 24 hours, 13 more people were hospitalized with the virus, bringing the total to 255 people in hospital across the province.
People aged 70 and over currently represent 35 per cent of hospitalizations.
Dubé said he is closely following this increase, adding he "doesn't like" to see any rise in hospitalizations.
The health minister is calling on people who are not vaccinated to get their shot now, and urged those eligible for the third dose to get it, if it's been six months since their second.
The spike in cases comes the same day Quebec's Health Ministry announced that all preschool and elementary school students will be receiving rapid COVID-19 screening tests that can be used at home.
Starting this week, tests will be distributed to school boards and service centres in Montreal, the Eastern Townships, Chaudière-Appalaches, Lanaudière, the Montérégie and the Laurentians — regions where the epidemiological situation is "more worrisome," according to the Health Ministry.
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