DEATH TOLL HITS 2,000
But Montreal makes progress
With the death toll on Montreal Island passing the 2,000 mark Tuesday and hundreds of new COVID-19 cases still being confirmed daily, Montreal’s public health director hinted that she will recommend against schools and daycares in the city opening on May 25 as planned.
“We are following it closely and it is strongly probable ... that we will ask that the reopening of certain sectors be postponed,” Dr. Mylène Drouin said at a news conference in Montreal Tuesday. “That is a conversation we are having with (Quebec’s) public health director very openly.”
Drouin said her department is questioning whether businesses, elementary schools and daycares in Montreal should reopen all at once “as a monolithic block” on May 25. Instead, she suggested certain sectors “for which the contribution to community transmission could be more significant” — and she specified those involving schools and children — may be postponed, while others that are less risky may go ahead.
The Montreal health region had 19,878 confirmed cases of COVID-19 as of 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, an increase of 386 in the past 24 hours. Eighty-four more people died of COVID-19 overnight, bringing the total number of deaths in this region to 2,003, 85 per cent of those in seniors’ residences. Quebec as a whole has recorded 39,225 cases and 3,131 deaths.
Drouin added that 3,743 of those who have contracted the virus in Montreal, fully 20 per cent of the total for the region, are health care workers. She promised a more complete portrait of the Montreal situation will be posted on the Santé Montréal website on Wednesday.
Drouin also noted some encouraging signs: new hospitalizations for COVID-19 in the Montreal region have plateaued since last week and there has been a small reduction in new admissions of COVID patients to intensive care and emergency units. Her department is aiming to administer more than 3,000 tests per day in the community (outside of hospital and health care settings). In the past week, 1,900 tests were administered at community testing clinics per day, up from just over 1,000 the week before.
So far, three STM buses have been retrofitted into mobile testing clinics, complete with laboratories that produce results within 24 hours, and two more are expected to be operating by the end of this week. The mobile clinics are parked in “hot spot” neighbourhoods on a schedule, and each bus can handle up to 250 patients a day.
Drouin said so far the mobile clinics have been operating at less than half their capacity. She urged anyone with symptoms of COVID-19 (fever, cough, difficulty breathing) or who has been in contact with someone who has tested positive to check the Santé Montréal website for the mobile testing clinic itinerary. No appointment is necessary, but those who live in the neighbourhood are prioritized.
Drouin spoke about the many seniors who do not live in seniors’ residences and may be suffering from the effects of isolation. About 90 per cent of the 265,000 people over age 70 in the Montreal region live at home and one-third of them live alone. Because they are at a much higher risk of serious complications from the coronavirus than younger people, most are staying home to be safe.
But Drouin said isolation can have negative health consequences, including psychological distress, malnutrition and loss of muscle mass due to reduced exercise.
The public health department is promoting use of an online home exercise program, tailored to seniors of varying fitness levels, including those who use canes or wheelchairs.