Montreal public health warns it is a 'critical time' as hospitalizations, cases rise

Hospitalizations in Montreal have jumped by over 60 per cent, as the Omicron variant of COVID-19 sweeps across the boroughs, notably in the younger population.

Montreal's director of public health, Dr. Mylène Drouin, provided an update on the COVID-19 pandemic in the city on Thursday, alongside Sonia Bélanger, who runs the health authority for the city's downtown area, the CIUSSS du Centre-Sud-de-l'Île-de-Montréal.

"This is a critical time for Montreal's health networks as holiday gatherings approach. We are now feeling the impact of rising case numbers on hospitalizations," Bélanger said.

She said 181 people are currently hospitalized for COVID-19 across the city, an increase of 60 per cent over last week.

The system is currently preparing an additional 550 beds to accommodate COVID-19 patients, though that could ramp up to a thousand, if necessary.

Bélanger said half of surgeries will be postponed as a result of the rising hospitalizations. Urgent surgeries, such as cardiovascular and cancer-related surgeries, will continue.

Drouin said that 3,668 new cases were reported to public health Wednesday, but cautions that the true number is likely much higher, as testing centres struggle to keep up with demand. Others are using at-home rapid tests, which do not necessarily get reported to public health.

The positivity rate in Montreal is hovering around 18 to 20 per cent, meaning one in five people who do receive a PCR test are positive, she said. 

"That's something we've never seen before," she said. 

Of those new cases, 90 per cent are the Omicron variant. 

Omicron is particularly hitting young Montrealers aged 18 to 44, Drouin said. The age group accounts for 60 per cent of the cases.

"Social events, which could have been in apartments, not necessarily in bars, could explain the transmission," she said.

That is in contrast to the Delta variant, which was prominent among children aged five to 11 and their families, Drouin added. 

"Our goal is really to make sure that we do not have this same increase in older [age groups], Drouin said, noting the importance of cutting transmission before it reaches the parents and grandparents of the infected young population.