1) More than two months ago, Côte-Saint-Luc was one of the first Montreal communities hit hard by #COVID19. Yet it's now doing better than many other areas, while its death rate stays relatively low. In this thread, I will explain the lessons we can learn from its experience.

2) Let me be clear the #pandemic is far from over in the west end municipality. Côte-Saint-Luc still has a total of 405 #COVID cases, although we don’t know what percentage are still active. However, it’s no longer Montreal’s COVID hot spot. What are the secrets to its success?

3) Côte-Saint-Luc was the first town in Quebec to declare a #COVID state of emergency on March 17, three days before Toronto did and 10 days before Montreal. Côte-Saint-Luc’s declaration was far from symbolic. It was a stark warning to residents of the gravity of the situation.

4) A #COVID screening clinic opened on March 29 in Côte-Saint-Luc, giving authorities a quick snapshot of the contagion. By comparison, authorities waited until May 1 to open a clinic in Montreal North even though they already knew for days how bad things were in the north end.

5) In a sense, it's become a tale of two cities: one affluent and resourceful, and the other populated with low-income tenants and lacking in clout. One of those tenants who died from #COVID19 was an asylum-seeker, Marcelin François, so eloquently profiled by @YvesBoisvert.

6) Please understand that I’m not trying to pit communities against each other, but to learn from their experiences. For example, as poorly accessible as health care is across Quebec (including home care), it’s much worse in Montreal North. Why should that be?

7) Tonight, 22 people have died so far from #COVID in Côte-Saint-Luc even though it has a big elderly population. In contrast, the chart below shows 140 people have died from the respiratory illness in Montreal North, which also has one of the highest mortality rates in the city.

8) As I’ve pointed out in a previous thread, a significant body of research has already demonstrated the consequences of low income on health outcomes. This #pandemic has simply exacerbated those outcomes — from Montreal North to Hochelaga Maisonneuve in the east end.

9) Some lessons we can draw from Côte-Saint-Luc is that it acted early in closing stores and testing its population. It has been super prudent. This is something Premier @francoislegault should keep in mind as he considers reopening schools and some businesses as early as May 25.

10) Meanwhile, Montreal crossed a tragic milestone on Tuesday, reporting more than 2,000 #COVID deaths. Most of those deaths have occurred in nursing homes, but we still don’t know what’s going on inside them after Premier @francoislegault yanked those daily updates 12 days ago.

11) There’s no doubt the epicenter of Canada’s pandemic will cross another grim milestone tomorrow, surpassing 20,000 #COVID cases. And many of those cases are proliferating in the city’s poorest neighborhoods. End of thread. Stay safe, everyone.