At least one medical expert in Quebec believes we may have already seen the worst of this fifth wave of COVID-19, fuelled by the Omicron variant.
"It looks to me, at least from what I've seen from our own numbers at the Jewish General over the last 72 hours, this wave may have peaked and we may be on the way down," said Dr. Lawrence Rosenberg, executive director of the Jewish General Hospital and CEO of West-Central Montreal Health.
This comes as hospital numbers across the province hit a critical stage, forcing Health Minister Christian Dubé to enforce a Code Red.
"[This is] for us to make sure that we set aside a designated number of beds in the general wards, in the intensive care units, to make sure that we can handle all COVID-19 admissions," Rosenberg explains.
He emphasizes that he doesn't believe the province is "anywhere near" having to decide which patients receive critical care, and which do not.
Hospitalizations related to the virus are continuing to climb in Quebec, with 2,554 people being treated for COVID-19 as of Monday.
However, the number of patients in intensive care wards has dropped by nine, for a total of 248.
Active cases also fell, according to Quebec's Institute of Public Health (INSPQ).
There are now 106,250 active cases and 1,216 COVID-19 outbreaks in the province.
Last week, Dubé estimated that at least 20,000 health care workers are currently off the job due to COVID-19 infections, and an additional 50,000 are on burnout leave.
