1) On Saturday, Premier François Legault delivered horrific news: 31 residents of the privately run Herron long-term care centre had died during the #COVID19 pandemic. In this thread, I will try to make sense of this staggering death toll in the 143-bed institution.

2) On Friday night, I reported in the @mtlgazette that the number of dead at the Herron was probably much higher than the official #COVID total of two. I was informed that it could be as high as 27. But even I wasn’t prepared to hear Legault utter the number 31.

3) To be clear, for now, five of those deaths are confirmed as #COVID-positive. Armed with a court order, authorities secured the keys to the Herron’s offices holding the patient files and at 8 p.m. Friday they discovered the true picture, Health Minister Danielle McCann said.

4) It’s to @MinistreMcCann’s credit she wasted no time investigating this after we broke the story of the horrors at the Herron earlier in the day. In response to a question by @PhilipAuthier, McCann said “I have to make a lot of verifications on this, and I’ll do it quickly."

5) Legault announced police have launched a criminal investigation and inspectors will fan out across the province to spot-check around 40 privately run long-term care centres. However, he did not specifically announce a probe into the cause of the 26 other Herron deaths.

6) Autopsies can be performed to determine whether any of those 26 had #COVID. But that’s unlikely as some of the victims have probably already been buried, or possibly cremated. In that sense, we may never truly know the exact COVID-19 death toll at the Herron.

7) Which raises another question about the mortality figures Quebec is releasing: How accurately do they reflect the true number of those dying from #COVID? An early death at the Jewish General Hospital was ruled out because the patient suffered from pneumonia many times before.

8) In this regard, Quebec's no different than many jurisdictions tracking #COVID death rates. Officially, Quebec declared its biggest single-day increase in such deaths on Saturday: 49. The chart I created below suggests the death toll has not peaked in the province.

9) Some of you reading this may have wanted to know more about the Herron #COVID tragedy. Trust me, I'm working this story hard, and I appreciate all the tips I’ve received. Most important, I'd like to thank all my sources who have risked their careers and more speaking to me.

10) It’s a sad commentary on our society that the law of Omertà still prevails in Quebec’s health-care system, with patients and professionals often scared to speak out against abuses, as they did in telling me about the Herron. Perhaps this might change now, but I doubt it.

11) For those following this thread, I’ve usually begun with a chart reporting the rising number of cases in Montreal, Canada’s epicenter in the #COVID pandemic. Tonight, I’ll close with the updated chart below. Please look at the blue line.

12) Do you see how it looks to be cresting? Dr. Mylène Drouin, the city’s public health officer, said Montreal might peak by Saturday. Let’s all hope she’s right. This may be the only hopeful news out of today. End of thread. Once again, please practice #PhysicalDistancing.