Despite the expected increase in hospitalizations within two weeks, Public Health does not intend to extend the mandatory wearing of masks beyond May 1, unless the virus decides otherwise.
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The Acting Director of Public Health, Dr.s Luc Poelho, providing an update on the pandemic, Friday.
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“The weather can help too, so we don’t intend to continue with this in May,” he said.
In the meantime, confirmed ds Boileau. He warned that “the uptrend could probably continue for another two weeks”.
Despite some stability in Gaspésie, Îles-de-la-Madeleine and Côte-Nord, the trend remains bullish in Saguenay – Lac-Saint-Jean, Bas-Saint-Laurent and Capitale- National, in Chaudière-Appalaches, Mauricie and Center -du-Quebec.
In the Greater Montreal region and Istres, which have so far been less affected, vigilance is required, as elsewhere.
13,000 absent
In the past 24 hours, more than 3,500 new cases have been reported (although access to PCR tests has been restricted) and about 50 COVID patients have been added to the hospital’s treatment tally.
In the health and social services network, more than 13,000 workers are absent (as in January), which increases the risks of postponing surgery and service interruptions.
“Even if Quebec has begun to return to a more normal life in recent weeks, the situation remains fragile,” says Dr.s Boileau. We must not forget that the virus is still there and the epidemic is not over yet. »
Photo Archives, Joel LeMay
A man wearing a mask walks on the sidewalk in Montreal in March 2021.
team effort
With the long Easter holiday approaching next week, the top director of public health is calling on Quebecers to be “extremely vigilant,” particularly by remembering that a person with the virus remains contagious for ten days.
In this context, Drs Boileau considers extending the mandatory wearing of masks in public until the end of April as the lesser of two evils, so he wouldn’t be surprised if other provinces or states followed suit.
Once this latest population measure is lifted, public health will want to stick with “encouraging people to act responsibly.”
There are no other measures in sight
Whatever happens, the possibility of adding new measures is always excluded.
D . reporteds Boileau.
He noted that “the intention is really to return to the normal context as much as possible, but we do not decide that. It is the infection that will decide, it is the measures that everyone takes in a responsible way, by all citizens.”