1) Quebec on Thursday posted a big increase in #COVID19 cases in yet another region off the island of Montreal: Lanaudière. In this thread, I will explain how the resurgence in the #pandemic has unfortunately become province-wide, and how we can head this off.

2) Montreal recorded 54 new #COVID cases, more proof the city is witnessing a bar-fueled surge since July 6, as the orange line in the chart below shows. The Montérégie, where house parties led to outbreaks two weeks ago, posted 28 cases, while the Laurentians declared a dozen.

3) What’s surprising is Lanaudière, north of Montreal, came third, with 26 cases. The community news website, http://monjoliette.com  reported last week on crowded beaches in Saint-Liguori and Saint-Gabriel-de-Brandon as well as bars where #PhysicalDistancing was being flouted.

4) http://Monjoliette.com  also reported that a Joliette church wasn't respecting the 50-person limit. Health minister @cdube_sante said he wants to pore over more granular #COVID data in the coming days to know what’s driving the resurgence. Perhaps it’s churches, not bars.

5) It appears that with the return of the summer weather, many people across Quebec have lowered their guard in the #pandemic. In addition to the Montérégie, the Laurentians and Lanaudière, the Quebec City region observed a new outbreak late last week at a seniors’ residence.

6) Meanwhile in Montreal, most of the new cases (15) were traced to the Plateau Mont-Royal, where young Montrealers have been waiting for hours to get tested at the Hôtel Dieu screening clinic. This is coincidentally a borough with many bars and nightclubs.

7) I would've wanted to report the latest number of bar-related #COVID cases in the city, but a public health official told me that information would be available only tomorrow. Let’s hope this is a one-time delay and that authorities will keep us apprised of the bar data daily.

8) Tragically, the metropolis added four more fatalities to a #COVID death toll that's reached 3,431. (See below.) All the new deaths were linked to long-term care centres, conveying that the #pandemic is still a threat in eldercare homes even if the number of cases has dwindled.

9) The health minister is to be commended for deploying more resources to shorten the wait lines for #coronavirus tests. Dubé acknowledged the response was slow initially. Under such circumstances, why wait longer to close the bars, given the disastrous experience in the U.S.?

10) For the final tweet in tonight’s thread, please click below on my latest column in the @mtlgazette about Premier @francoislegault and what has set him off during the #pandemic. End of thread. Stay safe everyone. https://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/analysis-legault-fuming-behind-scenes-over-quebecs-pandemic-response/wcm/e524e5d5-1336-4c85-a764-07e609a8446c/