1) Ten schools and one daycare in the greater Montreal area declared suspected cases of COVID-19 variants over the weekend as the total number of presumptive ones soared across the province. In this thread, I will assess the risks of further easing #pandemic restrictions.
2) On Sunday alone, six schools — including Hebrew Academy in Côte-St-Luc and École Lucille-Teasdale in densely populated Côte-des-Neiges — identified what are likely B.1.1.7 variant cases. Evidence is mounting that schools have become breeding grounds for the variants. 
3) According to the assiduous record-keeping by Olivier Drouin of covidecolesquebec.org, 62 schools to date across Quebec have shut down temporarily or shuttered their classes because of exposure to the more transmissible variants.
4) Yet despite this trend and the spread of the variants into 13 regions of the province, the government has decided to permit after-school sports on Monday. On Sunday, Quebec reported the number of presumptive variant cases rose by 115 to 2,083. Please see the chart below.
5) Meanwhile in neighboring Ontario, the number of presumptive variant cases jumped by 732 to 8,224. Confirmed variant cases now stand at 1,114 in Ontario. View the slight upswing of the red line in the chart below by @jwan_md concerning the number of #COVID19 cases in Ontario.
6) On Monday, most of Italy will be placed again under lockdown and people will only be allowed to leave their homes for essential errands amid a #COVID19 resurgence driven by the variants. Officials in Paris are also mulling a lockdown.
7) The Guardian newspaper notes that in contrast, the U.K. is “beginning to emerge slowly from its current bout of shop and school closures and sports bans.” The chart below shows the U.K. has administered nearly 30 doses per 100 people, much higher than Italy, Germany or France.
8) The BBC reported two days ago that 23 million people in the U.K (with a population of 66.6 million) have received at least one dose of the #COVID19 vaccines. By comparison, 715,581 Quebecers (out of a population of 8.57 million) have received at least one dose.
9) It would appear that at this stage, Quebec’s ambitious vaccination rollout might not be fast or comprehensive enough to head off a third #COVID19 wave, if one were to go by the trends in Europe. Certainly, this point is debatable.
10) Under such circumstances, it would make more sense to wait for a noticeable decrease in the spread of the #COVID19 variants before lifting any more #pandemic restrictions, like reopening spas and indoor hotel pools. End of thread. Please limit your social contacts.
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
