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Aaron Derfel

19 Nov, 10 tweets, 5 min read

1) New York City announced it will close its schools again Thursday after its #COVID positivity rate rose to 3%. By comparison, Montreal’s schools are staying open even though the public health department disclosed Wednesday the city’s positivity rate climbed to 6.02% from 5.26%.

2) Boston shut its schools on Oct. 21 after that city’s #COVID19 positivity rate jumped to 5.7% from 4.5%. Four Boston public schools reopened on Monday. In this thread, I will once again draw attention to the need for more measures to protect students and teachers in Quebec.

3) Toronto’s #COVID19 positivity rate has inched up higher than Montreal’s, to 6.2% from 5.9% a week ago. Like Montreal, Toronto will not close its schools. But unlike Montreal, Toronto has implemented more public safety measures during the #pandemic’s second wave for schools.

4) Since the school year's start, all students in Grades 4 and up wear masks in classrooms. Quebec belatedly required masks, but only in high schools in red zones. The Toronto School District Board installed air purifiers in 500 classrooms last month. Quebec has yet to do so.

5) Ontario's measures aren't full-proof. To date 3,626 students and staff have tested positive for the #coronavirus in Ontario’s publicly-funded schools, including cases that are resolved. By comparison, the cumulative total in Quebec in the public system is almost triple, 9,903.

6) In Ontario, 670 schools have reported at least one #COVID19 cases in contrast with 1,027 in Quebec, up by nine since Tuesday. Ontario has had to close three schools temporarily. In less populous Quebec, nine schools are either fully or partially closed.

7) This comparison suggests Ontario’s measures have proved more effective in curbing the transmission of the #coronavirus in schools than in Quebec. This is something to keep in mind on the eve of an announcement Thursday by Premier François Legault and his education minister.

8) Meanwhile, Quebec added 14 more #COVID19 hospitalizations Wednesday to a total of 652, the highest absolute number in Canada. (For added context, Manitoba’s hospitalization rate per million population is now much higher than Quebec’s.)

9) Quebec added 35 more #COVID19 fatalities Wednesday to a provincial death toll that stands at 6,710. Seventeen of those deaths occurred in the province’s long-term care centres and seniors’ residences, 26 of which are grappling with outbreaks that are judged critical.

10) Montreal, for its part, declared two more #COVID19 fatalities to a death toll that has risen to 3,579. The city’s rolling seven-day average incidence is 147.57 cases per million, still considered high enough to remain in the red zone. End of thread. Stay safe, everyone.

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More from @Aaron_Derfel

Aaron Derfel

@Aaron_Derfel

20 Nov

1) Workplace #COVID19 outbreaks have doubled in Montreal in the past week and are occurring in nearly every industry. The hardest-hit is retail, according to the latest report by the city’s public health department Thursday. In this thread, I will try to explain who's at risk.

2) School outbreaks have justifiably received much attention. But #COVID19 clusters are also a growing problem in the metropolis. On Nov. 10, authorities reported a total of 49 active outbreaks affecting 168 workers. On Thursday, those numbers jumped to 104 and 363, respectively.

3) Since the government closed bars, restaurants and gyms on Oct. 1 in Montreal, the sector that is now reporting the lion’s share of outbreaks is shops, including boutiques, big-box stores, grocers and pharmacies. The number doubled to 32 Thursday from 16 on Nov. 10.

Read 10 tweets

Aaron Derfel

@Aaron_Derfel

17 Nov

1) Quebec on Tuesday posted its biggest one-day surge of #COVID19 hospitalizations during the #pandemic's second wave, as well as a record daily hike in cases in schools. Yet the Premier described the situation as "stable." In this thread, I will explain why it's far from stable.

2) “The situation in staying under control in the hospitals,” François Legault said, noting incorrectly that the number of hospitalizations is below 600. That was the case on Monday, but on Tuesday the government counted a total of 638 hospitalizations, up by 47 since Monday.

3) That compares with 529 #COVID19 hospitalizations in Ontario, up by 29; and 240 in Manitoba, up by six. What’s also noteworthy is the number of Quebec patients receiving intensive care rose by 13 to 100, matching the previous high in the second wave on Oct. 19.

Read 10 tweets

Aaron Derfel

@Aaron_Derfel

17 Nov

1) Quebec Premier François Legault on Monday appeared to take comfort in the fact that #COVID19 hospitalizations in the province are not soaring as they have in the U.S. and Europe. In this thread, I will try to explain why the premier’s sanguine view is far from justified.

2) “The good news is about hospitalizations — we’re still under 600,” Legault said, even as Quebec set a record of 591 (up by four) during the second wave. Legault added the figure is “a lot less when we compare ourselves with other states like the United States and Europe.”

3) Legault’s reassuring message is at odds with the assessment by Canada’s chief public health officer. Dr. Theresa Tam warned Saturday that although Quebec has reported lower increases in hospitalizations than some provinces, it continues to treat a very high number of patients.

Read 10 tweets

Aaron Derfel

@Aaron_Derfel

15 Nov

1) Outbreaks were increasing in all sectors across Quebec on Sunday, including in health-care institutions, daycares, schools and the workplace, suggesting the second wave is entering a potentially dangerous new phase. In this thread, I will assess what this could mean.

2) Quebec added four #COVID19 hospitalizations Sunday to a cumulative total of 587, the highest so far in the second wave. Intensive-care unit stays were up by seven to 89. The latter is not a record, as Quebec reported 101 ICU stays on Oct. 22, but the trend is still worrisome.

3) #COVID19 clusters rose by six to 211 Sunday in health-care institutions that include long-term care. Outbreaks inched up by two to 82 in daycares. The workplace declared a total of 753 active outbreaks, up by nine since Saturday. Outbreaks rose by four to 449 in schools.

Read 9 tweets

Aaron Derfel

@Aaron_Derfel

15 Nov

1) Ouebec reported 28 more #COVID19 outbreaks in schools on Saturday, by far the highest single-day increase of any setting in the province. Clearly, the existing public-health protections in schools are failing. In this thread, I will show how schools are posing a growing risk.

2) Just a little over a week ago, on Nov. 5, #COVID19 clusters in schools represented 26.6% of all active outbreaks in Quebec. By Saturday, that percentage climbed to 29. During the same period, the workplace's share of all outbreaks in the province declined from 49.6% to 48.5%.

3) In fact, the province reported a drop of 15 #COVID19 active outbreaks in the workplace Saturday, for a total of 744. By comparison, the number of outbreaks in schools rose by 28 to 445. The only other setting to note an increase was health-care institutions: up by five to 205.

Read 10 tweets

Aaron Derfel

@Aaron_Derfel

14 Nov

1) Quebec set more grim records in the #pandemic Friday, all of them in the educational sector. The most notable one is 1,241 classes shuttered due to #COVID19 exposure, up by 27 from the day before. In this thread, I will take stock of the growing contagion in schools.

2) Another record: a total of 3,193 students and staff have tested positive for the #coronavirus, up by 159 since Thursday. That increase represents the second biggest daily spike recorded during the second wave. A third record: 950 schools now have at least one #COVID19 case.

3) A fourth record: the province reported 417 #COVID19 clusters in schools, up by two since Thursday and 43 since a week ago. Nearly half of all of Quebec’s schools have confirmed cases since the start of the academic year, according to covidecolesquebec.org.

Read 10 tweets

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