Quebec extends mask mandate order for month of April amid rise in hospitalizations

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QUEBEC — The Quebec authorities will preserve its masks mandate till a minimum of the top of the month as an alternative of mid-April as beforehand deliberate, interim public well being director Dr. Luc Boileau stated Tuesday.

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Boileau informed reporters in Quebec Metropolis he modified his advice as a result of rise within the variety of new COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations. He stated he’s additionally nervous concerning the excessive variety of health-care staff who’re absent from work after contracting COVID-19.

The Well being Division reported a 72-patient rise in COVID-19 hospitalizations Tuesday, bringing the full variety of sufferers with the illness to 1,479. It stated practically 11,600 health-care staff had been off the job attributable to COVID-19.

“Regardless of all the things, the scenario for hospitals is beneath management, although it’s not straightforward as a result of there are nonetheless many staff who’re affected by COVID,” Boileau stated.

Masking is an efficient technique to scale back COVID-19 transmission, he stated, including that whereas not everybody likes having to put on a masks, the well being order is an “acceptable restriction within the present scenario.”

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“For us, it’s essential to scale back the variety of dangerous contacts, and that is a technique to try this,” Boileau stated.

The federal government had deliberate to raise the masks mandate for indoor public locations besides transit by April 15. In early March, Boileau steered it could possibly be lifted even earlier. However on Tuesday, he stated the sixth wave of the pandemic has modified the scenario.

“It’s spreading very quickly,” Boileau stated. “The variety of instances may be very excessive.”

Well being officers reported 2,615 new COVID-19 instances confirmed by PCR testing Tuesday, including that 16.8% of exams analyzed got here again optimistic. PCR testing within the province is at present restricted to sure high-risk teams. The province stated a further 1,586 optimistic outcomes from take-home fast exams had been uploaded to an internet portal.

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Quebec and Prince Edward Island at the moment are the one provinces the place masks should be worn in all public locations.

Boileau stated nearly all of new infections are related to small personal gatherings, however he stated he has no plans to suggest extra restrictions as a result of individuals have sufficient data concerning the virus to handle their very own dangers.

“We’ve got no intention so as to add measures,” he stated. “We’re not there.”

Boileau stated he hopes the two-week extension of the masks mandate might be enough. “We’re simply pushing it again a couple of days — two weeks — for from time to time we’ll see. However the intention is to not hold it without end.”

Modelling suggests the present wave of the illness ought to peak over the subsequent two weeks, Boileau stated, including that it’s unclear whether or not it would happen earlier than or after the Easter vacation. He stated he believes this wave might be much less critical than the fifth wave that the province skilled in January.

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Talking to reporters later within the day, Premier Francois Legault supplied no assure that the masks mandate can be lifted on the finish of the month.

“I’m not a psychic,” he stated on the legislature. “What’s being predicted is that within the subsequent two weeks, there might be a rise in instances, in hospitalizations. There could also be a chance that (instances) will go down after, however there aren’t any ensures, so we’ll comply with the scenario week by week.”

Well being officers reported 31 extra deaths attributed to the novel coronavirus Tuesday.

Boileau stated Quebec will even develop entry to fourth doses of COVID-19 vaccines to individuals 70 and over on Wednesday and to individuals 60 and over on April 11.