Quebec enters seventh wave of COVID-19
As Quebec enters the seventh wave of COVID-19, the province's health minister says the situation is "under control for the moment" but is urging residents to be "vigilant."
"We are not here at all to reimpose health measures," Health Minister Christian Dubé said Thursday during a news conference. "We've said all along that we need to live with this COVID."
The health minister said that isolating when sick and keeping up to date on vaccinations is key to curbing this latest surge of the virus and protecting the most vulnerable members of the community, including the elderly and those with weakened immune systems.
On the latter, he announced the province will soon release new guidance on its website for people to help them decide when they should seek booster doses of the vaccine to ensure they are protected from the latest Omicron variants that are spreading in Quebec and elsewhere in the world.
Dr. Luc Boileau, Quebec's public health director, joined the health minister for the media briefing Thursday morning. The pair has not been side-by-side for COVD-19 updates in quite some time.
Quebec's hospitalizations surpassed 1,500 on Thursday—a number not seen since May, according to Quebec's public health institute (INSPQ).
NEW WAVE COULD PEAK IN WEEKS
This new wave, however, is not expected to persist for much of the summer, Boileau predicted openly.
"The evolution should curve down during the month of July, but there are uncertainties about that and we will follow the situation very carefully," he said.
The rise is nonetheless happening as more and more health-care workers are being reported absent from work due to COVID-related reasons. On Thursday, the number reached more than 7,300.
Boileau highlighted the prevalence of subvariants of the Omicron strain of the coronavirus—BA.4 and BA.5—that is being blamed for surges in other countries.
The more contagious variants account for a growing proportion of variants across Canada in recent weeks. According to the latest data from the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), BA.5 accounted for 20.4 per cent of cases as of June 12. By that date, BA.4 represented about 7.4 per cent of cases.
A month prior, each of those variants accounted for about 1 per cent of cases.
The province explained Thursday that while the two subvariants are proving to be more contagious, they don't appear at this time to be more virulent than previous variants. This is the bar Quebec is using to decide whether or not to bring back more public health measures, Boileau told reporters.
"If there's a variant that shows that it's a deadly one, that we calculate that there's a risk of increasing the risk for the system and the people, their mortality, morbidity, then it will certainly bring back some very new [measures]," Boileau said.
"But this is not what we're what we are facing right now."
PEOPLE NOT RESPECTING ISOLATION RULES: PUBLIC HEALTH
The public health officials attributed some of the blame for the rise in infections on people not respecting isolation guidelines. "That explains the current wave," Boileau said.
"Clearly, there are a lot of people who are not respecting the rules."
Boileau reminded the public that once symptoms are observed, a complete isolation of five days is necessary.
After that, infected people should wear a face mask for another five days during any social interaction since people who test positive remain contagious for 10 days.
On Thursday, Quebec reported the positivity rate remained stable at 14.5 per cent as it logged 1,755 new infections from PCR testing, which is reserved for priority clientele.
The province is also monitoring 339 active outbreaks of the virus across Quebec. On Tuesday, COVID-19 outbreaks caused the closure of three Quebec sleepaway camps.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Ontario Provincial Police arrest 64 suspects in child sexual exploitation investigation
Ontario Provincial Police say 64 suspects are facing a combined 348 charges in connection with a series of child sexual exploitation investigations that spanned the province.
AstraZeneca says it will withdraw COVID-19 vaccine globally as demand dips
AstraZeneca said on Tuesday it had initiated the worldwide withdrawal of its COVID-19 vaccine due to a 'surplus of available updated vaccines' since the pandemic.
Toronto police seek suspect vehicle after security guard shot outside Drake's mansion
Toronto police are seeking help from the public as they continue to investigate a shooting that seriously injured a security guard outside rapper Drake's mansion.
World's record-breaking hot temperature streak stretches through April
The world just experienced its hottest April on record, extending an 11-month streak in which every month set a temperature record, the European Union's climate change monitoring service said on Wednesday.
Most of Canada to receive emergency alert test today
The federal government will test its capacity to issue emergency alerts today, with the exception of Ontario, where the test will take place on May 15.
OPINION What King Charles' schedule being too 'full' to accommodate son suggests
Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, has made headlines with his recent arrival in the U.K., this time to celebrate all things Invictus. But upon the prince landing in the U.K., we have already had confirmation that King Charles III won't have time to see his youngest son during his brief visit.
Seafood, eat food: Calgary Stampede releases Midway menu
The Calgary Stampede has released its menu of sweet, salty and spicy treats available on the Midway for the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth.
Boy Scouts of America is rebranding. Here's why they've changed their name
After more than a century, Boy Scouts of America is rebranding as Scouting America, another major shakeup for an organization that once proudly resisted change.
Ontario man devastated to learn $150,000 line of credit isn't insured after wife dies
An Ontario man found out that a line of credit he thought was insured actually isn't after his wife of 50 years died.