1) As Montreal construction sites rev back up on Monday, exhausted nurses on the front lines are furious their summer vacations have been put on hold indefinitely. In this thread, I will try to explain the impact of the #pandemic on health care workers (HCWs).

2) At least 4,000 HCWs across Quebec — many of them not fully protected against the #coronavirus — have been infected with #COVID. On Montreal’s West Island alone, 425 such workers have so far tested positive as of two days ago.

3) They’re not only exhausted but under tremendous psychological stress. It certainly doesn’t help to be told they can't go on a restful "staycation," knowing the latest optimistic projections show Montreal will be reporting as many as 2,000 new #COVID cases a day in June.

4) “It’s awful,” a nurse told me. “It will end up being a big problem. Combine that with the fact all part-timers were forced to give availability for full-time hours, you have a staff that is completely fed up and burned out.” Expect the already high absenteeism rate to soar.

5) Premier @francoislegault alluded to the fact that 11,600 HCWs are absent from the health network. He’s trying to entice people to work in nursing homes with generous #COVID bonuses, but such incentives may prove too little, too late, in an overwhelmed health network.

6) Meanwhile, Montreal reported its second biggest daily increase in #COVID deaths on Sunday, 103, with 75 of those deaths occurring in long-term care centres (CHSLDs). The light blue line in the chart below shows no signs of flattening.

7) People are also dying from #COVID in hospitals and at home, too, as the chart below shows. An Urgences Santé paramedic told me they’re likely under-counting #COVID deaths at home. “I’m certain (there’s) a gross underestimation of COVID-related deaths,” he said.

8) In a puzzling development, Montreal reported one of its lowest increases in new #COVID cases in days: 342. But at the same time, the government completed only 1,922 #COVID tests since Sunday, despite the long-promised ramp-up. Explanations from authorities are needed.

9) Certainly, something odd is going on because the number of outbreaks in CHSLDs and seniors’ residences climbed to 141 on Sunday from 138 the day before. Let’s hope the Premier resumes daily publication on Monday of the more detailed CHSLD updates that the public is demanding.

10) At the neighborhood level, the chart below indicates that Ahuntsic-Cartierville and Montreal North continue to dominate in the number of #COVID cases and deaths. But five other boroughs are hotbeds, too, including low-income Hochelaga Maisonneuve and Park Extension.

11) It’s in this context @francoislegault has decided to reopen all construction sites in Montreal Monday, along with schools in outlying regions. Expect journalists to grill him with questions at his daily briefing about that decision and the #COVID projections. End of thread.