Legault is concerned about Omicron, but there are no changes to the measures for now

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Quebec is closely monitoring the situation in Ontario, where the Omicron variant is taking hold, but has not yet planned to impose stricter measures to stop a similar spread, Prime Minister Francois Legault said on Monday.

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Ontario announced Monday that it now believes 21 percent of new infections in the province are caused by the Omicron variant. Meanwhile, Canada’s director of public health, Dr. Theresa Tam, said she hopes the same will happen across the country soon.

“What is happening with the Omicron variant in Ontario, we can think will happen here as well, and we cannot take it lightly,” Legault told reporters in Montreal.

But for now “public health has not asked for any changes,” added the prime minister on possible tightening measures, noting that he will meet with authorities on Monday night to discuss the situation.

Legault’s comments came as Quebec continues to see a surge in new COVID-19 infections in recent weeks, recording another 1,628 cases and three deaths on Monday. The province’s seven-day moving average for new cases is now 1,683, the highest since last January.

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When asked about the numbers, Legault said he is concerned about the increase, but remains focused on the number of people hospitalized. Despite the increase in cases, hospitalizations have remained stable in the province. They reached 268 on Monday, an increase of six from the previous day.

Given the threat of the Omicron variant, both Nova Scotia and New Brunswick announced new restrictions on Monday in an attempt to stem the spread before the holidays. They include tighter fit mask requirements and measurements in schools.

But Legault said there are no plans for similar changes in Quebec. Under current vacation period guidelines, the number of people allowed to meet will increase from 10 to 20 starting December 23.

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“For many reasons, we believe that it is important to maintain that limit of 20 so that families can meet up during the holidays,” said the prime minister.

According to the Institut national de santé publique du Québec (INSPQ), there are only eight confirmed cases of the Omicron variant in the province and another 10 suspected cases. But Quebec’s director of public health, Dr. Horacio Arruda, has also said that the province so far is only testing a small percentage of new samples positive for the variant.

Last week, Montreal’s public health department announced that 14 cases of the variant had been confirmed in the city. Of those, he said, five “could have been acquired while traveling outside of Canada; the remainder was acquired in Canada, suggesting limited local transmission. “

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Regarding vaccination, almost 88 percent of eligible Quebecers have received one dose of the vaccine and 81 percent have received two doses. Vaccination among children ages 5 to 11 is also progressing, with 42% of the age group now receiving a dose.

Of the new cases reported Monday, 806 were among unvaccinated or only partially vaccinated people, while 822 were detected in people who received two doses.

Proportionally, as of Monday, Quebec estimates that an unvaccinated person still has almost three times the risk of becoming infected than someone who is twice vaccinated, and 15 times the risk of being hospitalized.

In an interview, Dr. Benoît Barbeau, a virologist at the Université du Québec à Montréal, said that as the number of people vaccinated continues to increase and immunity decreases over time, it is normal to see more cases among those vaccinated.

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And while the vaccine has protected the vast majority of them from serious illness or hospitalization, Barbeau cautioned against Quebec letting transmission spiral out of control.

“Unfortunately, Omicron arrived at the beginning of the winter season, when people will be more indoors and gathering for the holidays,” he said.

“So it really is the perfect setting for the number of cases to increase,” he continued. “And even if the percentage of people hospitalized is low, the more infections there are, the greater the chances that they will translate into hospitalizations.”

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