1) For the first time in the #pandemic, #COVID19 is intensifying at the same time in both Montreal and outlying regions, with outbreaks now occurring in schools, businesses and homes, amid an uptick in hospitalizations. In this thread, I will examine the latest ominous trends.
2) During the first wave in the #pandemic, #COVID19 was concentrated in Montreal and Laval, rampaging through eldercare homes. Outlying regions were largely spared, and travel was restricted from Montreal. The current resurgence is unfolding much differently.
3) As I’ve reported in earlier threads, #coronavirus transmission is now being driven largely by young people, with #COVID19 cases being confirmed even among preschoolers as well as among elementary and high school students. But there are still outbreaks in nursing homes.
4) For several days this week, at least five regions outside of Montreal have reported numbers of new #COVID19 cases that are higher than those they declared at the peak of the first wave of the #pandemic. Quebec City even counted more cases than Montreal on Friday.
5) During the first wave, schools were closed, and people were afraid to go to hospital emergency rooms, resulting in an eerie quiet in ERs. Now schools have reopened, overcrowding has returned to ERs and thousands of nurses are burned out, 800 quitting in Montreal. 
6) Quebec posted 244 cases Saturday (compared with 232 in Ontario), and likely the highest in the country. The province’s rolling seven-day average inched up to 23.83 #COVID cases per million inhabitants, up from 22.68 on Friday. The province is monitoring seven regions closely.
7) Montreal posted 55 cases Saturday, up from 40 the day before, amid record testing. See the chart below. The city’s rolling average was 24.39 #COVID cases per million population, slightly down from 25.3 the day before. Montreal is likely to be coded a yellow-risk zone Monday.
8) At the neighborhood level, densely populated Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, Mercier-Ouest and Rosemont counted a combined total of 16 cases, the highest by far in the metropolis, as the chart below makes clear. The spike is being driven by community transmission of the #coronavirus.
9) The number of Montreal schools where at least one teacher or student has tested positive increased to 60 Saturday from 57 the day before. Authorities have officially confirmed two school outbreaks, but I’ve been informed of a third unofficially. See the map below.
10) After not declaring any #COVID19 fatalities for eight days, Montreal added three ones retroactively to its death toll, which now stands at 3,477, higher than those of the nations of Ukraine (3,148), Japan (1,412), Portugal (1,860) or Guatemala (2,929).
11) Montreal’s #COVID cases numbers are still far below those in the 600-plus range during the peak of the first wave. But for a fourth day in a row, Quebec has been reporting net increases in hospitalizations. The total stands at 125, up from 94 on Sept. 4.
12) Is the uptick in hospitalizations a trend? It’s still too early to tell. But the resurgence across Quebec calls for the imposition of new restrictions, not just more monitoring. Yet on Monday, Quebec will permit after-school sports between classes. End of thread. Stay safe.
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