Quebec headed for possible 6th wave, but it’s too soon to call it: Boileau
Although cases and hospitalizations are on the rise in Quebec, public health says it’s too early to call it a sixth wave.
According to interim public health director Dr. Luc Boileau, there are no plans to reinstate health measures in the near future, but the situation will be closely monitored.
“[The increase is] not a surprise,” said Boileau at a Sunday press conference, adding health authorities expected a rise in infections after safety measures were relaxed.
Roughly 8,600 healthcare workers are absent from work due to illness — a rise of 60 per cent since last week.
“The vast majority of that is because of COVID-19,” he said.
The province is still scheduled to lift the mask mandate by mid-April, although this could change if the situation continues to decline.
Boileau pointed out that, as hospitalizations increase elsewhere in Quebec, Montreal has remained relatively stable.
This may be because Montreal already experienced high Omicron rates earlier this year, meaning the variant isn’t packing as big a punch as before — even with the BA.2 sub-variant on the rise.
BA.2 accounts for about half of new infections in Quebec.
Public health is preparing a booster campaign for a fourth dose of vaccines, initially for those most at risk, such as those in long-term care facilities, seniors’ residences, immunosuppressed individuals, and the elderly.
Quebec reported 2,203 new positive cases of the virus on Friday, although this number was likely higher as PCR tests are not available to the general public.
With a test positivity rate of 16.3 per cent, it was the third day in a row daily case counts rose past 2,000.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
"It's a bit of a complicated pattern; we've got a lot going on," said Jennifer Smith of the Meteorological Service of Canada in an interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. "[As is] typical with weather, all of these things are related."
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.