City wary of plan to relaunch economy
As Montreal’s public health department investigates alarming spikes in COVID-19 cases in certain parts of Montreal island, its director is questioning whether this region meets conditions required for the safe reopening of some businesses and schools.
At his daily COVID-19 news conference Tuesday, Premier
François Legault said the spread of the novel coronavirus is sufficiently under control in Quebec — with the notable exception of seniors’ homes — to begin the gradual relaunch of the economy in just two weeks. Some Montreal businesses will be allowed to reopen on May 11, while schools and daycares are set to reopen here on May 19.
But at a news conference later
Tuesday afternoon, Montreal public health director Mylène Drouin indicated it is far from clear that the Montreal region will meet the conditions necessary to begin a safe and successful “de-confinement” in just a few weeks.
“The experts’ advice is clear about the conditions necessary for a successful de-confinement,” Drouin said.
“The question we are asking ourselves today is: can Montreal fill these conditions and what can we do quickly, in the next three weeks, to ensure these conditions are in place?”
The conditions, she said, are that the spread of the virus must be under control, that the health care system and public health system must be ready to deal with new outbreaks that are inevitable as society reopens, and the public must be on board and following public health orders.
Drouin confirmed the death toll in the Montreal region has surpassed the 1,000 mark. As of 1:15 p.m. Tuesday, 1,039 Montrealers have died of the disease, counting 56 new deaths since Monday. The Montreal region is home to 12,487 people who have tested positive for the virus, an increase of 453 cases in the past 24 hours.
Twelve more seniors’ residences in the region reported new outbreaks since Monday, and neighbourhoods like Montreal North, St-michel and Rivière-des-prairies have seen worrisome increases in their infection rates.
As a metropolis, Montreal faces different and greater challenges than the rest of the province, Drouin noted, and so must proceed more carefully with school and business reopenings.
“The metropolitan region was hard hit, and continues to be hard hit, by the pandemic,” she said. “We have certain particularities that mean we will have to adapt our strategy of progressive de-confinement. First, we are the epicentre, so it’s here the virus is circulating the most. We have a very high volume of cases and contacts to investigate, which is a significant logistical challenge. We have outbreak risks that are greater because of the size of our workplaces, a strong population density with many living in housing where distancing is difficult, a high mobility of the population using public transit, and vulnerable populations for whom the rules of distancing are difficult or impossible to respect.”
Drouin said the sharp increase in cases in Montreal North to 1,153 is particularly concerning, as it began on April 8, well after the first wave of cases hit the island due to travellers returning from March break. With an infection rate of 1,369 cases per 100,000 people, the borough is well above the Montreal region’s average infection rate of 604 per 100,000.
About 23 per cent of the COVID-19 cases in Montreal North are among health-care workers, which is more than the average of 15 per cent elsewhere, Drouin said. Another 17 per cent of cases in that borough are related to homes for the elderly. The proportion of younger people affected in that borough is higher than elsewhere in Montreal, she said.
While several outbreaks have occurred in workplaces in Montreal North, no particular neighbourhood or building has been identified as a source of community transmission. Drouin’s department is working with borough authorities and community organizations to ensure that distancing is possible and promoted in public spaces, workplaces and multiplexes.
Her department is also considering opening a drop-in testing centre in Montreal North and other hot spots to test people with symptoms. More testing will be rolled out in all areas of the island, she said, as reopening dates approach.
Community activists from Montreal North have sent an open letter to Montreal Public Health demanding more information, more testing and quick action to reduce spread.