1) As Most Quebecers prepare to return to work and school in 2 weeks' time, it’s worth revisiting the #COVID10#pandemic in the province. In this thread, I will compare this point in time with the same periods in the last two years. Unfortunately, the comparison is not favorable.
2) This is not to suggest that Quebec will be crashing into an apocalyptic 8th wave this fall, but simply to underscore that the #pandemic is still with us, still churning out new virus variants, still hospitalizing people and still killing Quebecers amid stalled vaccination.
3) On Aug. 19, Quebec declared 999 new #COVID cases; a total of 1,997 hospitalizations (down by 14 from the day before); a dozen new fatalities, raising the death toll to 16,207. ICU stays were up by two, increasing the tally to 47.
4) By comparison, on the same date last year, Quebec reported 436 new #COVID infections; 91 hospitalizations (up by three from the previous day); and zero new fatalities (with a death toll at the time of 11,277). ICU stays were down by one to 27.
5) And in the #pandemic’s first year, on Aug. 19, 2020, the province recorded just 64 new infections; 146 hospitalizations (up by one from the previous day); and zero new deaths (with a toll of 5,729 at the time). ICU stays dipped by one to 26.
6) This comparison reveals that in this third week of August, the #pandemic’s impact has been more severe than for comparable periods in each of the last two years. This can be blamed, in part, on the proliferation of new variants and low booster uptake. See the chart below.
7) Quebec is not alone in struggling to overcome the #pandemic. Dr. @mvankerkhove, the #COVID19 technical lead at the World Health Organization, produced an entire Twitter thread on this subject on Saturday, warning against global complacency.
8) Nowadays, a staggering average of 15,000 “mothers, daughters, fathers, sons, brothers, sisters, friends…people we love” are dying from #COVID each week, Van Kerkhove wrote. “I know we are tired, but when did this become acceptable?”
9) Back in Quebec, few #pandemic protections remain in place. Only 19% of the population above the age of five has received a second #COVID booster shot. Is Quebec not setting itself up for an 8th wave this fall as BA.5 and other variants continue to circulate? (See below).
10) This #pandemic has walloped health-care systems across Canada, with overcrowded emergency rooms no longer uniquely a Quebec problem. For the sake of our health-care systems, for the sake of the lives of the elderly (see the chart below), Quebecers must resist complacency.
11) In eight days, Quebec will start offering a 5th #COVID vaccine dose to all adults. I know I will get mine. And in light of the latest #pandemic stats, perhaps Quebec authorities should consider reinstating some public health precautions. End of thread.
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1) BREAKING: The lengthy #COVID19 summer wave is continuing unabated in Quebec, along with other parts of North America and even around the world. Here in Quebec, it has been associated directly and indirectly with 1,100 hospitalizations for the past 12 days in a row.
2) As you can glimpse from the chart below, the #COVID testing positivity rate in Quebec was 20.9 per cent as of Aug. 11, the most recent date available. The trend line suggests the positivity rate has yet to peak.
3) Although nowhere near as fatal as it was back in 2020 (when vaccination was unavailable), #COVID this year has nonetheless been linked to 675 deaths, 38.7 per cent of which have occurred in octogenarians. But 30 Quebecers in their 50s have also died from #COVID in 2023-2024.
1) On Tuesday, the Quebec government unveiled its 2024-2025 budget, with the biggest expenditure to be made on health and social services. In this Twitter thread, I assess whether this "Health/Education Priorities" budget lives up to its hype, especially when it comes to seniors.
2) As you can see from the chart below, the lion's share of spending in the budget is for health and social services, pegged at $61.9 billion — up by 4.17% from the year before. In contrast, spending on education — so vital to Quebec's future — will rise 9.35% to $22.3 billion.
3) But as far as health and social services is concerned, Tuesday's budget may be indulging in a bit of spin. The chart below states that Quebec will spend an extra $3.7 billion over the next five years to "support a humane and effective organization of health care."
1) "The pandemic is far from over," one of the preeminent experts on #COVID19, Dr. Eric Topol, declared today, Jan. 4, 2024 — three years after the world first learned of a novel virus that was killing people in China. In this thread, I take stock of what's going on in Quebec.
2) "The pandemic is far from over, as evidenced by the rapid rise to global dominance of the JN.1 variant of SARS-CoV-2," Topol noted in a Los Angeles Times op-ed. In Quebec, nearly one in two genetic samples collected was from JN.1 as of two weeks ago. It's likely higher now.
3) "Clearly this virus variant, with its plethora of new mutations, has continued its evolution ... for infecting or reinfecting us," Topol added. Although the updated booster is considered 60% protective against hospitalization, only 17% of the Quebec population has taken it.
1) BREAKING: By every major indicator, Quebec's health-care system is now arguably the worst it's ever been. Please click on my story below on Quebec wait lists for cancer and other surgery setting record highs — again. via @mtlgazettemontrealgazette.com/news/local-new…
2) Although Quebec has made it a priority to tackle wait lists for cancer surgery, more than 4,400 oncology patients are still waiting for their operations. More than 600 are waiting longer than the medically acceptable delay of 57 days, potentially putting their health at risk.
3) Even the wait list for so-called non-urgent surgery has now swelled to nearly 164,000 people. Almost 14,000 Quebecers today have been waiting more than a year for their surgery. At a year's wait, a non-urgent surgery starts to become urgent.
1) BREAKING: Quebec, like other jurisdictions across North America, is now in the midst of a new #COVID19 resurgence — nearly 4 years into the #pandemic. In this thread, I will assess the implications of this latest wave of infections, likely driven by a new SARS-CoV-2 variant.
2) On Dec. 5, Quebec declared a total of 2,214 hospitalizations with and for #COVID. Please note this increase also reflects a change in the way Quebec's public health institute has been compiling such hospitalizations. But make no mistake: Quebec is still facing a resurgence.
3) The United States is also facing a #COVID hospitalizations resurgence, with 20,000 new admissions per week, according to preeminent expert @EricTopol. In the U.S., the JN.1 variant is becoming dominant, with wastewater levels surging with SARS-CoV-2. See Topol's tweet below.
1) BREAKING: Jewish-owned businesses in Montreal are being targeted and vandalized with antisemitic profanity. Please click below to read my report.
via @mtlgazettemontrealgazette.com/news/local-new…
2) "Last weekend, they put swastikas on the … menus downtown and they wrote FUCK THE JEWS," a Jewish business owner told me. I have also seen a list of Jewish businesses that is circulating, provoking not only boycotts but vandalism.
3) The Gazette has decided not to publish these disturbing images, as the Jewish business owners are fearful of reprisals.