1) It may be only a one-day blip, but Montreal reported an uptick in #COVID19 hospitalizations on Monday, in contrast with days of declines in the rest of the province. In this thread, I will examine what this may mean during the second wave in the #pandemic.
2) The number of #COVID19 hospitalizations in the metropolis rose by 15 to 496 on Monday. Eight of the city’s 17 hospitals posted increases in admissions ranging from one (to 46) at the Royal Victoria Hospital to seven at the Jewish General for a total of 66.
3) There were also increases in hospitalizations in some institutions in the greater Montreal area, including seven to 36 at Hôpital Pierre Le Gardeur, two to nine at Hôpital de Saint-Eustache and one to 50 at Cité de la Santé in Laval. Provincially, the total rose by six to 969. 
4) The high numbers of #COVID19 hospitalizations mean the government will continue with its policy of délestage, or the postponement of medical procedures. In Montreal, half of all elective or non-urgent surgeries are being put off because of over-stretched resources.
5) In addition, emergency room overcrowding is surging again in the metropolitan Montreal region, as the chart below makes clear. The hardest-hit hospital is the Jewish General, with an ER occupancy rate of 172%, making it harder to separate #COVID19 patient from non-COVID ones.
6) Amid high testing, Montreal posted 393 #COVID19 cases on Monday, down from 476 the day before. The city’s seven-day rolling average nonetheless remained high at 24.44 cases per 100,000 residents, just below Harvard University’s stay-at-home recommendations.
7) Drilling down to the neighborhood level, community transmission of the #coronavirus remained high in the east end and centre of the city, although the incidence has been trending down for the past two weeks, especially in Saint-Léonard.
8) Across Quebec, the number of #COVID19 outbreaks dropped by 13 to 1,193. But clusters in schools were once again the exception, rising by four to 278. For reasons that are unclear, the provincial Education Ministry did not make public an update on Monday.
9) Meanwhile, Quebec gave one shot only of the #COVID19 vaccine to 2,636 people Sunday. In total, 2.7% of the population has received first shots. In the U.S., top health official Anthony Fauci for two days in a row insisted that it doesn’t make sense to delay the second shot.
10) Despite this mixed record in the province, non-essential stores and hairdressers reopened in Montreal on Monday, even as the likelihood increases of more transmissible #COVID19 variants circulating in Quebec. End of thread. Please limit your social contacts.
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