1) Health Minister Christian Dubé will travel Monday to the Saguenay—Lac-St-Jean region after it posted on Sunday its highest daily number of #COVID19 cases amid critical outbreaks in at least two eldercare homes. In this thread, I will take stock of Quebec's escalating crisis.

2) During the #pandemcic's first wave, the Saguenay—Lac-St-Jean was largely spared. But in the past two weeks, infections have risen in the region from under 50 a day to 155 Sunday. More than 50 elderly residents are suffering from #COVID19 in two major institutional outbreaks.

3) The worsening situation is also reflected in the fact that Quebec set a record 1,397 cases Sunday amid high levels of testing. Neighboring Ontario smashed its previous record by nearly 200 cases. What’s more, #COVID19 is on the rise in Montreal and more so in Toronto.

4) A day after declaring Quebec had “regained a certain amount of control over the pandemic,” Premier François Legault tweeted Sunday of a “worrisome increase in the number of cases in several regions,” adding Quebecers must reduce their contacts as “lives are at stake.”

5) It would appear to serve no purpose for authorities to issue a reassuring message to the public one day (even though the province ended its deadliest week since the first wave of the #pandemic) only to issue a statement the next conveying a stark warning.

6) As Quebecers move more indoors as the weather grows colder, there will be more opportunity for the #coronavirus to spread in the workplace and in schools. In light of this hard reality, authorities must step up efforts to improve building ventilation. https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/covid-ventilation-virus-transmission-1.5779916?__vfz=medium%3Dsharebar

7) Meanwhile, Montreal posted 308 #COVID19 cases Sunday from 286 the day before, as the chart below indicates. A senior health manager told me that people in various Montreal communities are still gathering secretly in large numbers, in addition to school and workplace outbreaks.

8) At the neighborhood level, the north end of the city counted the highest number of #COVID19 infections Sunday, as the chart below indicates. But the numbers were also elevated in the west and east ends of the metropolis, underscoring the ubiquitous nature of the #coronavirus.

9) Public health officials are now beginning to fret about the prospect of a third wave in January and February after Christmas shopping and holiday get-togethers. Perhaps it’s time for authorities to level with the public about what to expect in the weeks ahead. End of thread.