Things appear to be improving after Quebec narrowly avoided a "dramatic" situation in its hospital network, Dr. Luc Boileau said.
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The COVID-19 situation in Quebec is improving but anything beyond a gradual reopening remains too risky for now, the province’s interim public health director said Thursday.
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During a news conference, Dr. Luc Boileau said he would like to see Quebec reopen sectors on a “week by week” basis to ensure the positive trends observed in recent days continue.
“After coming close to a situation that, frankly, would have been dramatic in the hospital network, many things seem to be stabilizing,” Boileau said. “We are not declaring victory, but it’s good to see things are improving, and it’s important to say so.”
Boileau, who became interim public health director two weeks ago, held Thursday’s news conference without Premier François Legault or any provincial ministers — a first in Quebec since the beginning of the pandemic.
Boileau said it was his idea to start holding his own news conferences, without politicians, to address Quebecers directly about the pandemic and better explain some of the decisions being made.
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“I think it’s important to have a more direct dialogue with the public and to explain decisions on a scientific level — what does the science tell us, what does it allow us to say,” Boileau said. “Our job isn’t political, it’s really about public health.”
Pressed on when Quebec could further loosen pandemic measures, Boileau said he’s studying different scenarios but did not want to divulge them just yet.
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Overall, however, he said he would like to see the reopening happen on a week-to-week basis, which means the province could remove further restrictions as of Feb. 14.
Quebec has already announced that , as of next Monday, restaurants can reopen at 50 per cent capacity, youth sports can restart, and private gatherings of up to four people will be allowed.
A week after that, on Feb. 7, movie theatres, entertainment venues and places of worship will also be allowed to reopen at half capacity. Boileau did not specify what he would like to see reopen next, but said decisions are being made with Quebecers’ mental health in mind.
“We need to be prudent and we need to go gradually, to bring the wave down as low as possible and not let it come back up,” Boileau said. “That’s what’s most important: to go in a way that we can control that risk.”
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During the same news conference, Michèle de Guise, interim head of the Institut national d’excellence en santé et en services sociaux (INESSS), said its latest projections suggest the number of COVID-19 hospitalizations will continue to decrease in the coming weeks — but not quickly.
“It’s a modest decrease, not a very steep one,” de Guise said, acknowledging the projections also do not take into account the impact reopening schools last week will have on transmission.
In terms of vaccination, Boileau said he would like to see the pace at which people are getting their booster shots accelerate. He pointed to how fewer than 80 per cent of people 60 and older have received their third dose, a number that drops under 50 per cent for people over 40.
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Asked whether he believes Quebec should have made the booster shot available to more people earlier, as some public health experts called for at the end of last year, Boileau said the province was right to focus on getting the shot to the most vulnerable people first.
And though he recognized Quebecers may be tired of the vaccination process after initially believing two doses would be sufficient, he urged people to continue getting their boosters.
“At one point, everyone will face the virus. That’s certain,” Boileau said. “So we need to give ourselves the tools to avoid being among those who will have dramatic outcomes.”
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Quebec recorded 3,956 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, but the case tally only includes people who received PCR tests at government screening clinics. It does not take into account people doing rapid tests at home.
The province also recorded 56 new deaths due to the disease, while the number of people in hospital fell by 117, the biggest one-day drop in more than two weeks.
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Quebec can't move too fast on reopening, public health director says - Montreal Gazette
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