Transmission is highest in the tourist areas of Rocher-Percé and Îles-de-la-Madeleine, which have rates higher than 1,300 cases per 100,000 people. Montreal, on the other hand, which was hit hard by the Omicron wave in December and January, has about 169.5 active cases per 100,000 people. The reported cases have almost tripled in the area within a month, according to the provincial public health institute. The local director of public health Dr. Yv Bonnier-Viger says that the situation in Gaspésie-Îlles-de-la-Madeleine can be explained by the fact that the Omicron mutation of the new coronavirus is relatively new in the region. “We know BA.2 is in Quebec now,” he said in an interview on Tuesday about the Omicron sub-variant, “so I think we provided a fertile ground for the variant.” The story goes on under the ad
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And while the transmission rate is high, Bonnier-Viger said it represents a fraction of reality. “We are only testing 10 percent of people with PCR at the moment.” Trending Stories
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He said he supported the decision to lift many restrictions, including the vaccine passport system, which expired in mid-March. But he said now was not the time to remove the mask mandate – the last major public health mandate left in the province. Quebec health officials have said the mandatory mask will expire in mid-April at the latest, except for public transportation. “It has proven to be an effective measure,” Bonnier-Viger said of the mask. “We will see where we are in mid-April, but if that was next week, we certainly should not remove it.” The situation is worrying but under control, he said, as COVID-19-related hospitalizations remain low. In the area hospitals 17 patients with COVID-19 were registered on Tuesday, marking an increase of two in the last 24 hours.
Read more: Quebec records 20 new deaths from COVID-19, hospital admissions increase by almost 40
Quebec, meanwhile, reported 20 more deaths on Tuesday attributed to COVID-19 and an increase in hospitalization by 38 patients. Health officials said 1,153 people were hospitalized with the disease, after 135 patients were admitted in the last 24 hours and 97 left the hospital. 63 people were registered in the intensive care unit, an increase of 10 cases. The story goes on under the ad The Ministry of Health announced that it recorded 2,171 new cases of COVID-19 based on the PCR test, which is limited to certain high-risk groups. He reported that 1,347 new positive cases were also reported by the public through an online self-report platform. Authorities said they administered 4,287 doses of the vaccine on Monday, and 53 percent of Quebecers aged five and over received a third dose. Quebec residents over the age of 80, those living in high-risk environments such as nursing homes and long-term care homes, and people with immunosuppression were eligible Tuesday for a fourth dose of COVID-19 vaccine. © 2022 The Canadian Press
