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. Image
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.
4) This increase has obvious ramifications in the lead-up to the holiday shopping season. Although more Quebecers are buying online, some will continue to shop the old-fashioned way. It’s more important that ever for employees and consumers to wear masks and socially distance.
5) Although Premier François Legault announced Thursday Quebecers can hold gatherings of 10 people from Dec. 24 to Dec. 27, he didn’t outline new measures to protect the workplace. But Legault did say bars, restaurants and gyms will stay closed until Jan. 11.
6) The Montreal health department identified eight #COVID19 outbreaks in the food and beverage industry, up by four since last week. The number of clusters in the construction industry climbed to seven from one a week ago. There are five outbreaks in transportation, up by two.
7) One puzzling category is known as business and personal services, including restos, bars, gyms, hotels, motels and temporary employment agencies. Outbreaks in that sector soared to 14 from five. It’s likely most occurred among temp workers, but there’s no detailed breakdown.
8) Provincially, the government reported a total of 1,255 #COVID19 outbreaks Thursday, up by four. The majority, 549, are in the workplace, followed by 380 in schools, 212 in health-care institutions and 78 in daycares. The rest are linked to events and other settings. Image
9) After a dip on Wednesday, the Education Ministry posted 70 more #COVID19 cases among students and staff, raising the active total to 3,604, another record. Although nine schools remain partially or fully closed, the number of shuttered classes dropped by 32 to 1,271. Image
10) Despite heightened transmission among students, the government’s latest response is to keep high schools closed for an extra week after Christmas. In the meantime, the #coronavirus is likely to circulate in poorly ventilated classrooms for four more weeks. End of thread. Image

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
 

Keep Current with Aaron Derfel

Aaron Derfel Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @Aaron_Derfel

19 Nov
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.
Read 10 tweets
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
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. Image
Read 10 tweets
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
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
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

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Too expensive? Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal Become our Patreon

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us on Twitter!