1) Today, Premier François Legault emphasized repeatedly at his daily briefing that Quebec’s #COVID “emergency is to regain control in our CHSLDs,” or long-term care centres. In this thread, I will try to explain how the situation is worsening in nursing homes across Montreal.

2) The number of CHSLDs and seniors’ homes rated red has gone up from 24 to 28 in the past four days. At least one-quarter of the residents in each of these facilities is infected with #COVID19. And the biggest outbreak in the city is growing worse at the CHSLD Laurendeau.

3) Four days ago, 48% of the occupants in the nursing home in Ahuntsic-Cartierville were infected with the #coronavirus. Today, it’s climbed to 54%, or 162 people. That absolute number is the highest in any facility in all of Quebec.

4) In that sense, it’s understandable why Premier @francoislegault is insisting the focus must remain on nursing homes even though the city’s emergency rooms are becoming more congested. Legault noted that the CHSLDs lack at least 2,000 workers — a staggering shortfall.

5) What’s happening is many workers are getting infected, too. In the tragic case at the Grace Dart Extended Care Centre in Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, one of the patient attendants, Victoria Salvan, died from #COVID on Friday.

6) Despite the premier’s assertion that health workers have enough personal protective equipment (PPE), I’m being told otherwise by staff in CHSLDs. This is something the government must address rapidly, ensuring all workers have enough PPEs like masks, facial shields and gloves.

7) As of Monday, 327 people have died thus far in CHSLDs in Montreal. To put that death toll in perspective, it’s more than double all the #COVID fatalities in the provinces of British Columbia (86) and Alberta (59) combined.

8) The second greatest number of #COVID deaths is occurring in people’s homes. To date, 93 people in Montreal have succumbed to the #pandemic respiratory illness at home. The question is how many of these deaths could have been prevented had people gone to hospital?

9) Health Minister Danielle McCann noted today some people are waiting too long to go to hospital. McCann’s observation squares with what ER staff have told me that many elderly people are afraid to go to the city’s ERs. And those ERs are growing overcrowded.

10) That’s why authorities must step up home care, not only to try to prevent #coronavirus deaths but any other type of death among the elderly. This latter category is not included in the official #COVID mortality statistics.

11) Let me now address whether the #pandemic in Montreal has truly peaked. The short answer is I don’t know. The blue line in the chart below would appear to indicate otherwise. We’ll have to wait for Dr. Mylène Drouin to address this point, possibly as early as tomorrow.

12) Meanwhile, the #COVID death toll would appear to have plateaued in the city, but obviously one can’t draw that conclusion based on two days’ worth of stats. Still, it’s some cause for hope. End of thread. And again everyone, please be kind and stay safe.