International travelers are responsible for a third of Montreal’s new COVID-19 cases

The fourth wave of COVID-19 is swelling in Montreal and promises to be different from the last three. Variable delta and the arrival of international travelers put authorities on high alert.

He said in the press on Thursday d^NS David Kaiser, MD, of the Montreal Regional Department of Public Health. “It’s very important, because that’s also how we see a lot of delta variants coming in. And there, unfortunately, there are also travelers who are doubly vaccinated and don’t have to self-isolate.” With adequate immunization, ‘we [peut] Don’t get sick, but [tout de même] and transmission of the virus,” stressing the importance of avoiding situations that carry a high risk of contamination.

Nearly a hundred new cases of COVID-19 were monitored every day in the capital for a week. On Wednesday, Montreal authorities reported 67 new cases without being able to identify a hotspot. sum up d^NS Kaiser.

It is the growing number of serious cases that worries the authorities above all else. There were nine new hospitalizations due to COVID-19 Wednesday in Montreal.

Laval Public Health He gave a similar speech on Thursday, describing the increase in cases as “really alarming.”

Moderated return

The start of the school year must continue under the mark of normalcy, Without a mask in the classroom and without “classroom bubbles”. But the “indicators are worrying,” referring to public health, which is dependent on more pessimistic scenarios.

It would be the first line of defense in a large-scale vaccination campaign in schools, as adolescents are left behind in immunization. According to INSPQ, nearly 75% of Quebec’s 12-17-year-olds have received at least one dose, but only 47.3% have been adequately vaccinated. Thus, the vaccination campaign should continue for another two months in Quebec.

If contaminations continue to accelerate, a mask could once again be mandatory everywhere in schools. The head of public health stressed that “this is exactly the type of measure that should be evaluated depending on the epidemiological situation at the time of the beginning of the school year.” If the epidemiological situation requires it, we will have to implement other measures, it is already in the plan. But what we want is to avoid that. “

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