Health Minister Christian Dubet has accepted a recommendation from the interim director of public health to extend the mandate of the masks, which should be lifted in late April until mid-May – even when the sixth wave of COVID-19 infections appears to be occurring.
Dube’s office issued a press release announcing the decision, while Quebec’s interim director of public health, Dr. Luc Boylo, updated the situation with COVID-19 in the province on Thursday. Boalo called the latest pandemic forecasts “relatively good news”.
“It is encouraging to see that the number of hospitalizations needs to start stabilizing and we expect a reduction in new hospital admissions,” Boalo said.
However, he urged Quebec residents to remain cautious about how contagious the options are now.
The mandate to wear masks in public places, including public transport and shops, has been extended until April 30, as the sixth wave of COVID-19 infections has led to an increase in the number of people admitted to hospitals in Quebec.
Boalo said maintaining that mandate for another two weeks should help prevent hospitals from being overwhelmed by a resurgence of infections.
The number of health workers leaving work due to COVID-19 infections also appears to be declining, Boalo said, although influenza infections are spreading to the health sector and the general population.
“We are seeing an increase in the flu situation,” Boalo said, noting that such a jump is rare at this time of year.
People in Quebec with flu symptoms should take the same precautions as with COVID-19, including isolation for five days after symptoms appear, wearing a mask to minimize pollution of others, and avoiding public gatherings and people with increased risk over the next five days, Boalo said.
Nosocomial infections are milder than the previous wave
According to the latest data, there are now 2,381 people with COVID-19 in a hospital in Quebec. The province also registered 26 new deaths on Wednesday.
Dr Lucy Opatrney, Quebec’s deputy health minister in charge of hospital services, who accompanied Boalo on Thursday, said that although the number was close to the number hospitalized during the fifth wave in February, hospitals were not needed to postpone operations and other services to the same extent.
Dr Lucy Opatrney, Quebec’s deputy health minister in charge of hospital services, said fewer people admitted to the sixth wave ended up in intensive care. (Radio Canada)
Opatrni said most people in the hospital diagnosed with COVID-19 were admitted for other reasons, and generally those admitted because of the virus experienced fewer serious complications than patients admitted during previous waves.
“A much lower percentage of people in hospital are admitted to intensive care – five percent – which is much less than before. Vaccination, which is more common, has helped,” Opatrni said.
While hospitalizations have increased by 15 percent in the last week, this percentage is lower than the increase in previous weeks, according to the Research Institute of Health, known by its French acronym as INESSS.
INESSS noted that it is too early to measure the impact of Easter gatherings over the weekend.
Boalo said Quebecers could still receive their third and even fourth dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. He advised those infected during the winter holidays to make an appointment for a third dose, if they have not already received one, as long as five months have passed since their last COVID vaccine.
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