Public health officials in Montreal say they are worried about the spike in COVID-19 infections as students prepare to head back to school in three weeks.
On Thursday, Quebec reported 369 new cases and a jump in hospitalizations — which health officials say is worrisome ahead of the upcoming school year.
According to health officials, about a third of eligible teens still don’t have their first dose and 60 per cent still don’t have their second.
Dr. David Kaiser from Montreal public health told reporters on Thursday that the highly contagious Delta variant is now the dominant strain in the province and everyone has to do all that they can to avoid outbreaks this fall.
Kaiser said the city’s public health department is doing what it can to reach out to non-vaccinated youth. This includes preparing mass vaccination sites at schools as soon as class resumes in September.
Kaiser said we need to encourage everyone to get vaccinated in the next few weeks to avoid a rise in hospitalizations and people admitted to the ICU.
“Public health measures like masking and distancing are needed in addition to being fully vaccinated,” infectious disease specialist Dr. Donald Vinh told Global News.
“We need these two arms in parallel at the same time to be able to prevent a major wave from happening from this Delta variant.”
On Thursday, Premier Francois Legault said in a statement that “the fourth wave is clearly present in Quebec.” He added that vaccination in our best best to fight it.
This comes as Quebec unveiled its back-to-school plan on Wednesday, announcing that students will no longer be placed in class bubbles and masks won’t be required while in class.