Tweet

Aaron Derfel

3 Apr, 10 tweets, 6 min read

@mtlgazette

1) Montreal’s hospitals are beginning to report an uptick in #COVID19 admissions during the #pandemic’s third wave, with younger and sicker patients staying longer in intensive-care units. Please click on my column below in the @mtlgazette. montrealgazette.com/news/local-new…

2) Local authorities are not observing a surge in patients in their 20s and 30s, although there are ICU patients in those age groups. What stands out are intensive-care patients in their 50s. There are also concerns these #COVID19 patients may be a lot sicker.

3) These observations square with findings that the more contagious variants are responsible for more severe #COVID19 hospitalizations. And Quebec is now reporting a lot more variant cases, 687 more since Thursday. See the chart below.

4) The Capitale-Nationale is posting the highest rate of variant cases per 100,000 residents (173.4), followed by Laval (170.2) and Montreal (163.3). The Outaouais and Chaudière-Appalaches have also been hit by spikes in variant cases.

@mrlalonde

5) Intensive-care capacity is extremely limited in the regions. And in the metropolis, some hospitals plan to hire unskilled workers to replace OR nurses, according to this bombshell report by my colleague @mrlalonde in the @mtlgazette. Click below. montrealgazette.com/news/local-new…

6) For the 10th day in a row, #COVID19 outbreaks have increased across the province. The number rose by 16 to 381 in the workplace, by three to 82 in daycares, by four to 21 in unspecified events and by 10 to 189 in schools.

7) Oliver Drouin, of covidecolesquebec.org (who won a coveted international prize for tracking the #pandemic in the province) reported on Friday that nine more schools had to shut classes because of variant cases, and one school closed entirely. Seven are located in Montreal.

@COVIDSTOPQC

8) On Wednesday, Premier François Legault ruled out tightening #pandemic measures in Montreal, claiming the situation in the city is "relatively stable." On Friday, though, the highly credible @COVIDSTOPQC group urged Legault to shut the city’s schools. montrealgazette.com/news/local-new…

9) The chart below suggests Montreal may no longer be on a plateau of #COVID19 cases, and that the incidence is rising despite the fact that 22.59% of the city’s population has been partially vaccinated thus far. These numbers call for greater prudence.

10) Finally, Montreal added two more #COVID19 fatalities to a death toll that has reached 4,625. For context only, the city of Paris (now in full lockdown because of the variants) posted 22 such deaths Friday for a total of 3,681. End of thread.

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More from @Aaron_Derfel

Aaron Derfel

@Aaron_Derfel

4 Apr

1) It appears that even during the third wave, mass vaccinations in Montreal may be blunting the impact of the more contagious variants, while these strains surge in other regions with much lower inoculation rates. In this thread, I will focus on the vaccination effort.

2) This is not to suggest that the #pandemic is under control in Montreal, as Premier François Legault claimed last week without evidence. More than three quarters of the city’s population has still not received a shot and the variants are still spreading in the metropolis.

3) The #COVID19 variants struck Montreal first, long before the outlying regions, and the city has accumulated the most cases of the more transmissible strains. But it’s worth pointing out that the variants are now surging faster in regions with much lower vaccination rates.

Read 11 tweets

Aaron Derfel

@Aaron_Derfel

3 Apr

Breaking: Quebec on Saturday reports its biggest daily increase yet in the number of #COVID19 variant cases: 771, for a total of 9,558. Positivity rate up to 60.3%. Big data dump. More tweets to come.

2) The Capitale-Nationale is surging with #COVID19 variants, up by 338 cases since Friday. The region is posting a rate of 217.9 variant cases per 100,000 residents, the highest by far of any region. Laval comes in second with a rate of 181.8.

3) The Côte Nord records for the first time variant cases, two of them. This means that the more contagious variants like B.1.1.7 are now circulating in 14 of Quebec's 16 regions.

Read 12 tweets

Aaron Derfel

@Aaron_Derfel

2 Apr

1) Although Premier François Legault has announced lockdowns in Quebec City, Lévis and Gatineau, the variant-fueled #pandemic is now rising in nearly every region of the province, the latest government statistics show. In this thread, I will assess this turn for the worse.

2) As you can see from the chart below, #COVID19 cases have ramped up since Wednesday in 15 of Quebec’s 17 regions. Although the number of cases dipped by 21 in the Montérégie, they’re up by 30 overall since March 21.

3) Undeniably, #COVID19 is surging in the Capitale-Nationale, but cases have risen in the past three days in Montreal amid an increase in outbreaks in the workplace and in schools. As I wrote in yesterday’s thread, the situation in Montreal is definitely precarious.

Read 10 tweets

Aaron Derfel

@Aaron_Derfel

1 Apr

1) Premier François Legault asserted Wednesday the #pandemic is “relatively stable” and “under control” in Montreal as he imposed lockdowns in Quebec City, Lévis and Gatineau. But as I will attempt to show in this thread, the situation in Montreal remains as precarious as ever.

@mtlgazette

2) As I reported in my column in the @mtlgazette tonight, the number of #COVID19 outbreaks in Montreal jumped by 50 since a week ago, hardly a sign of stability. The more contagious variants are proliferating as never before in the metropolis. montrealgazette.com/news/local-new…

3) Schools have been responsible for most of the latest #COVID19 outbreaks in Montreal, and this was before high school seniors were required to attend class five days a week. At least six schools in Montreal shuttered classes because of the #VariantsOfConcern on Wednesday.

Read 10 tweets

Aaron Derfel

@Aaron_Derfel

29 Mar

1) The #pandemic is once again surging in the Capitale-Nationale region of Quebec as it had last September, but this time it’s the more contagious variants — and not a karaoke bar — that’s driving the transmission. In this thread, I will focus on the regions beyond Montreal.

2) On March 21, the region that includes the provincial capital recorded 35 #COVID19 cases. By Sunday, that number more than tripled to 114. Also on Sunday, Quebec’s public health institute noted an increase of 94 variant cases in this region. Please see the chart below.

3) In the past two days alone, at least 13 schools in the Quebec City area announced they had suspected or confirmed variant cases, according to covidecolesquebec.org, which has been providing timelier updates on the variants than the Education Ministry.

Read 10 tweets

Aaron Derfel

@Aaron_Derfel

28 Mar

1) Two surveys were released this week showing Quebecers’ growing frustration with public health measures in the #pandemic, just as the province confronts a third wave driven by the more contagious variants. In this thread, I will delve into the implications of this weariness.

2) A survey by Quebec’s public health institute found that 57% of Quebecers would find it “very difficult” to cope with #pandemic measures for another six months, up from 55% two weeks ago. And a CROP survey found mounting resentment toward restrictions.

3) Premier François Legault suggested Friday he was open to reversing some of his latest loosening of restrictions. But he added: “We need to have a balance if we want the population to follow the measures we put in place. If we’re too strong, too hard, we may lose everybody.”

Read 14 tweets

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