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1) More than 75,000 students returned to schools in the Montreal area Thursday as the metropolis observed a second day of marked increases in #COVID19 cases. Hospitalizations are also up slightly. In this thread, I will try to place in context Quebec’s school reopening plan.
2) The overwhelming majority of schools reopened smoothly, with many children happy to see their classmates again. But students in a Grade 7 class at a private high school in Longueuil were sent home because a parent has tested positive for #COVID19. https://montreal.ctvnews.ca/montreal-area-grade-7-class-sent-home-because-of-parent-with-covid-19-1.5082051
3) A teacher at Vanier College has tested positive for the #coronavirus, while union leaders say three teachers at three different schools in Montreal’s east end also tested positive and eight of their colleagues are now in quarantine. All this on the very first day of school.
4) Meanwhile, a Toronto emergency room physician, @KashPrime, co-founder of @conquercovid19, has been compiling information on school reopening plans across the country. His verdict? “No clear winner yet, but Nova Scotia seems the best, Quebec the worst.” https://twitter.com/KashPrime/status/1298961363696521216
5) Montreal posted 41 #COVID cases, up from 36 Wednesday. (See the orange line in the chart below. Another 40 cases are under re-evaluation for suspected lab contamination.) Despite the increases, the city’s rolling 7-day incidence is relatively low: 1.67 per 100,000 population.
6) However, the chart below by the Institut national de santé publique reveals that the #coronavirus is circulating everywhere in the city. One would be naïve to assume that the #COVID19 incidence will not continue to rise with schools reopening. The question is by how much.
7) In neighboring Laval, Cité-de-la-Santé hospital is reporting a new #COVID19 outbreak infecting five patients. This report is by Daniela Vargas and is the result of federal funding by the Local Journalism Initiative, @CanadaLJI, combating news poverty. https://courrierlaval.com/eclosion-de-covid-19-a-la-cite-de-la-sante/
8) After trending downward for days, Quebec recorded a net increase in both #COVID hospitalizations (five) and intensive-care unit stays (three). Let’s hope this is a blip, because the province’s hospital emergency rooms are back to dealing with massive overcrowding. See below.
9) After not declaring any #COVID19 fatalities for four days, Montreal posted two Thursday, raising its death toll to 3,467, almost triple Toronto’s (1,167). Please see the chart below. Montreal’s death toll per 100,000 residents is 168.9, compared with 76.6 in London, England.
10) So what does this all add up to, you may ask? Community transmission of the #coronavirus is still quite low in Montreal, but with schools reopening, the public must be more careful than ever with #PhysicalDistancing and making sure to wear masks. End of thread. Stay safe.
