Thread by @Aaron_Derfel

1) Seven weeks after Quebec allowed public gatherings of 250 people in the #pandemic despite physicians' objections, it took a massive #COVID19 resurgence to finally persuade the government Sunday to reverse that decision. In this thread, I'll suggest what more needs to be done.

2) Although authorities are now limiting most public gatherings to 50 people, going down to 25 in the newly-created orange zones of Montreal, Chaudière-Appalaches and part of the Capitale-Nationale, not a single restriction was imposed on schools.

3) Health Minister Christian Dubé even went so far as to frame as good news that extracurricular activities will be maintained after school. Yet a half hour later, Education Minister Jean-François Roberge announced the second school closing in the province because of #COVID19.

4) On Sunday night, at least 341 schools in the province have been impacted by the #pandemic, according to covidecolesquebec.org. In addition to Herzliah and Sans-Frontière schools that have shut, a Longueuil high school will close tomorrow for the day for massive testing.

5) In his news conference Sunday, the health minister announced new restrictions for bars and restaurants, and said more will come for the province’s seniors’ residences after a spate of #COVID19 outbreaks Saturday in those facilities in Quebec City and Chaudière-Appalaches.

6) Yet even though many parents, teachers and schools have pleaded with the government to require that students wear masks in class — and despite outbreaks in educational institutions that have resulted in closures — the government won’t impose this requirement, as Ontario has.

7) My analysis of data from the Montreal public health department indicates unequivocally that the two age groups that are reporting the sharpest percentage increases in positive #COVID19 results are elementary and high school students. So why not do something about this?

8) Outbreaks have flare up in at least seven schools in Montreal. They are not occurring in a vacuum. On Sunday, the metropolis posted 160 new #COVID19 cases. The city’s seven-day incidence rose to 56.52 cases per million population from 50.8 the day before.

9) At the neighborhood level, #COVID19 cases are spiking in communities with lots of crowded public schools: in Côte-des-Neiges, Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, Rosemont and Montreal East, as the chart below shows. Maintaining the status quo in those schools is not an option.

10) Given the rising community transmission of the #coronavirus, the easiest, cheapest and simplest thing that can be done to protect our children is to require that they wear masks in the classroom, at least for the next little while. End of thread and please stay safe everyone.