Montreal Public Health discusses community transmission, supporting elderly

Montreal Public Health officials Dr. Mylène Drouin and Dr. Paule Lebel held a press conference on Tuesday to address the current COVID-19 situation in the City.

There are currently 19,878 cases in Montreal, with deaths now surpassing the 2,000 mark.

“(There are) over 3,700 health-care workers with the virus, which represents 20 per cent of all cases in Montreal. We still have a lot of work to do.”

Dr. Drouin said the city has reached a plateau, but the goal now is to maintain it and see a progressive decrease by controlling community transmission.

“The situation in Montreal is very worrisome. We need to be prudent in reopening, and as I said, in addition to controlling virus transmission, safe deconfinement must be there before reopening,” said Drouin.

By the end of the week, there will be five mobile clinics around the city. There are currently three operating in Anjou, Verdun and Saint-Laurent.

Dr. Drouin said the clinics are still only running at half capacity and invited Montrealers to get tested if symptomatic.

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Quebec Premier François Legault, during his daily briefing in Quebec on Tuesday, encouraged Montreal and Laval residents to get tested as the province ramps up screening measures in hard-hit areas.

“In the coming days, we will test more and more people, even those who are not symptomatic,” he said.

There has been a slight decrease in new coronavirus ICU and emergency care admissions, according to Drouin.

Montreal Public Health announced that detailed information on the coronavirus situation by borough is set to be available to the public online as of Wednesday.

In addition, Montreal Public Health announced the launch of a new exercise program called “Le Go Pour Bouger” aimed at encouraging the elderly to stay active during confinement.

The 15-minute program contains five different sections to suit a person’s physical condition.

“It’s very important to conserve a solid muscle mass it will help prevent falls and keep vitality,” said Dr. Lebel.

Public Health is recommending that all elders follow this program a few times a week.

Public Health will be annoucing their annual heatwave plan set to launch either by the end of this week or beginning next week.

— With files from Global’s Kalina Laframboise