As of Saturday, Quebecers who have been in contact with someone with COVID-19 will no longer have to isolate themselves at home for five days if they have no symptoms of the disease. They will be able to go to work and go regarding their business while wearing a mask at all times. Public Health recommends, however, that they avoid, for ten days, visiting vulnerable people and frequenting places where they must remove their mask, such as restaurants and bars.
The acting national director of public health, Dr.r Luc Boileau, announced this relaxation of the isolation rules during a press briefing on Thursday. Her Senior Strategic Medical Advisor, Dr.re Marie-France Raynault, was at his side.
According to the latter, this new isolation rule is “prudent enough” in the current context. She cited as an example British Columbia, which implemented this measure as early as January. ” [Son] experience is really encouraging, she said. They had quite a large Omicron wave [à ce moment] and we have seen that has not prevented a drop in cases since they passed this measure. »
The Dr Boileau confirmed during the press briefing that he was giving the green light to holding the proms in June. The Dre Raynault justified this immediate recommendation by the fact that “the high school student population is extremely well vaccinated”, that these events require months of preparation and that they occur in the summer, a time of year during which the virus circulates. less.
The Strategic Medical Advisor also indicated that the 125 Quebec deputies of the National Assembly will be able to return to the Blue Room on Tuesday. However, they will have to wear a mask, like other workers subject to the rules of the Commission for Standards, Equity, Health and Safety at Work (CNESST).
“The current situation allows us to be optimistic,” said Dr.r Boileau. Better days are coming for all of us in Quebec. »
From Saturday, the health passport will no longer be required in public places, where the reception capacities will increase to 100%. Dance and karaoke activities can resume. In mid-April, at the latest, the mask will no longer be required in public places, with the exception of public transport.
The current situation allows us to be optimistic.
In a press briefing, the Dr Boileau pointed out that the number of hospitalizations was down (1,162 on Thursday, including 68 in intensive care) even if it remains high. He said that “over 50%” of patients who have COVID-19 are hospitalized for other health problems.
Always contagion and deaths
Still, Omicron is still circulating and people are dying from COVID-19, Dr.r Boileau. More than 10% of COVID-19 cases in Quebec are now associated with BA.2, a subvariant that “transmits more easily and more quickly” than Omicron.
People must therefore show “civility”, said the Dr Boileau, by protecting the most vulnerable, that is to say immunosuppressed people, the elderly and the chronically ill.
Asked regarding the reported deaths (Thursday 15), the Dr Boileau responded that Quebec includes in its balance sheets deceased people who had contracted COVID-19, but who did not die solely because of it.
A team has also analyzed the deaths recorded for two weeks in seven major Quebec hospitals in order to determine how many of them were truly due to COVID-19. In “nearly 30%” of cases, “the primary cause” of death “might not be attributable exclusively to COVID-19,” said Dr.r Boileau during the press briefing.
“There are people, for example, who suffered from a lung disease [avancée]and who had a shorter life expectancy, and who unfortunately contracted COVID-19,” he explained.
Shouldn’t a fourth dose be offered to the elderly? “We regularly ask ourselves this question,” replied the Dr Boileau. The Committee on Immunization of Quebec, of the National Institute of Public Health of Quebec, is studying the subject.
“I can assure you that over the past few weeks we have been very confident of [l’efficacité] vaccines for people who have benefited from them, but over time, the immunity acquired by vaccination can slowly crumble, added the Dr Boileau. So we want to make sure that when it starts to be a little more risky, we can offer a fourth dose. That’s coming as a recommendation soon. »
