Quebec must prepare for a rise in COVID-19 cases come the fall as virus-related hospitalizations tripled in the past month, the province’s health minister said Friday.
Christian Dubé weighed in the evolving situation during the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) caucus meeting in Saguenay, saying he expects that number to grow.
“Three weeks ago we had 300 people in hospital that were COVID-related,” he said Friday. “This morning it’s almost 900. So I’m just looking at those numbers and I’m listening to what the OMS (World Health Organization) said yesterday and it will increase.”
Many of those patients are admitted for other reasons and contracted the novel coronavirus during their hospital stay, according to Dubé.
While the health minister said he doesn’t want to worry people, the province will be ready with a new vaccination campaign in October.
“What Quebecers are asking us is, let’s make sure we’re ready,” he said. “And I think to be ready, whatever that number will be — 3,000 in hospitals or 2,000 in hospitals — I don’t know that. But I think that we know that the best cure is the vaccination.
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“So we’re telling Quebecers we’ll be ready to vaccinate if you want to be vaccinated.”
In late August, the Health Ministry suggested vulnerable people — such as the elderly, pregnant people and health-care workers — get a booster in the fall. That advice came on the heels of a recommendation from both Quebec’s immunization committee and Dr. Luc Boileau, the director of public health.
On Friday, Dubé said he expects the province will be able to dole out COVID-19 vaccines to nearly 10,000 people per day next month.
The health minister made the remarks as he announced that dozens of vaccination clinics set up during the pandemic will become permanent.
The 100 sites currently offer vaccination for COVID-19, the flu and shingles. They also hand out free COVID-19 rapid tests to anyone who asks for them.
Those vaccination clinics will be transformed into expanded centres to provide additional services, such as blood and strep tests.
— with files from The Canadian Press
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