Quebec is officially in the sixth wave of COVID-19, according to the National Institute of Public Health of Quebec (INSPQ).
• Read also: Rise in COVID cases: Here’s when and how you should self-isolate
• Read also: More than 3000 positive cases tested by PCR
• Read also: The number of hospitalizations might double within two weeks, according to INESSS
Quebec’s acting national director of public health, Dr. Luc Boileau, had already confirmed, in a press briefing on Sunday, that the province was observing a marked increase in coronavirus cases, without however confirming that it was a sixth wave.
#COVID19 – The INSPQ today confirmed to public health that Quebec has entered a 6th wave of COVID-19.
Public health is monitoring the situation and recommending caution.
No new health measures are planned.
— Health Quebec (@sante_qc) March 30, 2022
During the press briefing, Dr. Boileau admitted that “the rise of the BA.2 variant is worrying”.
According to the INSPQ, the sub-variant of Omicron, the BA.2, represented, on Wednesday, 65% of the cases of COVID-19 in Quebec.
The BA.2 subline of the variant #Omicron currently accounts for 65% of cases of #COVID19 in Quebec. Although it would be more transmissible than BA.1, its virulence and resistance to vaccines would be similar. ???? https://t.co/Xae3uTnMRL
— INSPQ (@INSPQ) March 30, 2022
Despite this sixth wave, public health confirms that it does not intend to put health measures back in place, with the exception of wearing a mask, which is still in effect at least until April 15.
Dr. Gaston De Serres, medical adviser at the INSPQ, is of the opinion that Quebecers must learn to live with the virus.
“We are entering an era where people have to take responsibility and make their own decisions, rather than being imposed,” he says.
Listen to Mario Dumont’s commentary on QUB radio: :
Quebec recorded more than 3,000 positive cases of COVID-19 tested by PCR on Wednesday.
Public health also lists 1,200 people hospitalized and eight new deaths, for a total of 14,353 Quebecers who have succumbed to the virus since the start of the pandemic.