1) As #COVID19 continued to subside in hospitals and in the workplace across Quebec Monday, it nonetheless surged in schools, raising questions as to whether the government intends to beef up its plans to curb transmission of the #coronavirus in classrooms.
2) On Friday, the Quebec Education Ministry reported that five schools had to close temporarily because of #COVID19 outbreaks, up by two from the day before. Over the weekend and into Monday, another four schools had to shut, three in Montreal and one in Longueuil.
3) What’s more, the Education Ministry revealed that schools had to shutter another 101 classrooms Friday due to #COVID19 exposure, bringing the total to 1,008. In addition, there were 2,662 active cases among students and staff, up by 193 in a day. Please see the chart below. Image
4) This is a pronounced trend, unlike any other sector with the exception perhaps of daycares. A week ago, three schools were closed because of #COVID19 outbreaks, not as many as nine on Monday. In a week’s time, nearly 300 more classrooms were shuttered.
5) Meanwhile, Montreal posted its lowest daily number of #COVID19 cases, 373, since Dec. 1 (301). As I predicted, the city’s seven-day average dropped Monday below Harvard University’s stay-at-home threshold of 25 cases per 100,000 residents, with a rate of 24.47. See below. Image
6) This likely reflects the curfew and closing of non-essential businesses rather than the effectiveness of the first shots of the #COVID19 vaccines administered to mostly elderly residents of long-term care centres, as I wrote about in a thread yesterday.
7) Provincially, #COVID19 hospitalizations crept up by eight to 1,144 after days of decreases. In Montreal, the Health Ministry reported 543 hospitalizations Monday, up by one. Four of the city's 17 hospitals posted increases in admissions, including four at the Jewish General.
8) A #COVID19 outbreak has flared up at a private seniors’ residence in Lanaudière, the Phare de la paix, with 13 infections declared within 24 hours. But provincially, the total number of cases in eldercare homes dipped by nine to 1,436.
9) Montreal’s Bordeaux jail is once again battling a #COVID19 outbreak, with a dozen active cases, according to the Quebec Health Ministry. In the meantime, authorities vaccinated another 796 workers and residents in private seniors’ homes.
10) On Tuesday, Premier François Legault is to announce an easing of restrictions in retails stores, a move that will likely lead to a rise in transmission of the #coronavirus. The question is whether he will also announce some more protective measures for schools. 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

4 Feb
1) Montreal on Wednesday reported the total number of #COVID19 outbreaks jumped by 67 to 549 since a week ago, with most clusters erupting in schools and the workplace. In this thread, I will gauge the potential impact that reopening stores Monday will have on viral transmission. Image
2) Outbreaks in the workplace are linked to the second greatest number of #COVID19 cases after those in hospitals and eldercare homes. The manufacturing sector was responsible for most of the outbreaks in Montreal workplaces last week. Please review the chart below. Image
3) Clusters of #COVID19 rose by two to 22 in Montreal’s retail stores. This slight increase doesn't augur well for the reopening of these businesses Monday, especially as authorities are bracing for the more contagious B117 variant to hit Quebec possibly as early as next month Image
Read 9 tweets
3 Feb
1) In his news conference on Tuesday evening, Premier François Legault, Health Minister Christian Dubé and chief public health officer Horacio Arruda did not address at all the #COVID19 surge in schools. In this thread, however, I will dwell again on this important subject.
2) It’s the facts that compel me to do so, given that the number of classrooms that schools across Quebec have had to shutter since a week ago Tuesday is nearly 400. What’s more, the Education Ministry reported that three more schools closed because of #COVID19 outbreaks. Image
3) In Laval, Hillcrest Academy announced Tuesday it was shutting temporarily as well after confirming 16 active #COVID19 cases. At the current pace, the province is poised to report as early as Wednesday more than 3,000 cases among students and staff in less than four weeks. Image
Read 12 tweets
30 Jan
1) Nearly three weeks into Quebec’s nightly curfew and closing of non-essential businesses, the #pandemic is trending down in nearly every category except two: daycares and schools. In this thread, I will assess whether the current measures are protecting them enough.
2) Before focusing on schools and daycares, though, it’s worth noting that the number of people hospitalized for #COVID19 dropped by 47 to 1,217 across Quebec on Friday. That total is also down by 175 from the day the curfew came into effect.
3) Declining #COVID19 hospitalizations are most notable in Montreal. The city reported 593 on Friday, down from 744 about three weeks ago. Of the city’s 17 hospitals, five reported one or two new admissions and the rest observed decreases.
Read 11 tweets
20 Jan
1) Premier François Legault highlighted four health districts in Montreal where #COVID19 cases are skyrocketing. He noted that these districts have as many as 450 infections per 100,000 residents. In fact, the latest numbers are even higher in those districts.
2) Transmission of the #coronavirus is the highest in the health district of Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel, with 601.8 active #COVID19 cases per 100,000 population. I’ve been warning about Saint-Léonard for weeks, and Legault is now calling for more testing in the four districts.
3) A senior Montreal health official I interviewed Tuesday told me that some Montrealers are still reluctant to get tested for the #coronavirus. As high as the numbers are in those four districts, a boost in testing would likely lead to even more #COVID19 cases.
Read 14 tweets
19 Jan
1) Hospitalizations for #COVID19 rebounded on Monday by 31 to reach 1,491 — a clear sign the second wave still poses a dire threat in the province. ICU stays inched up by two to 217. In this thread, I will try to explain a couple of seemingly conflicting trends in the #pandemic.
2) On Jan. 8, Quebec posted a high of 3,127 #COVID19 cases. Ten days later, the province declared 1,634 infections. In fact, the number should be lower, 1,434 cases, since technically 200 belong to the tally reported on Sunday but were only disclosed Monday because of delays.
3) Is this a sign that the province’s curfew and shutting of non-essential businesses are working? A senior Montreal health official to whom I spoke attributed the decline in #COVID19 cases to a drop in testing. Authorities carried out 10,000 fewer tests over the weekend.
Read 11 tweets
18 Jan
1) Some observers are already suggesting Quebec may be turning a corner in the #pandemic by noting the province has reported three days of declining #COVID19 hospitalizations and a steady drop in active cases. In this thread, I will try to show why this view may be premature.
2) Quebec counted a total of 2,596 people with #COVID19 in the province’s private seniors’ residences and long-term care centres Sunday — one of the highest daily totals in the second wave. Unfortunately, some of these individuals will need to be hospitalized in the coming days.
3) What’s more, the number of active #COVID19 cases (20,636) should not be considered accurate because authorities acknowledged Sunday that a delay in the transmission of data resulted in a drop in the number of new cases declared. This should be corrected by Monday.
Read 9 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!