montreal public health director recommends 'suppressive approach' as covid-19 cases soar

amid a surge in covid-19 cases ahead of the holidays, montreal public health director dr. mylène drouin is urging people to limit their contacts.public health hopes to delay the rapidly-spreading omicron variant from taking over delta for as long as possible to avoid excessive pressure on the health-care system in the city, especially as it continues to grapple with a wave of delta cases, drouin said at a news conference wednesday.that means suppressive measures will need to be observed, like limiting contacts and continuing to wear masks. drouin also mentioned potentially adjusting capacities in public spaces.“those are preventive measures, so the sooner you put them in place, the sooner you have an effect and you reduce the risk,” she said, adding that the last thing she wants is for the government to have to reimplement more drastic measures.the city has seen an increase in daily case numbers for seven straight weeks, with 844 cases reported on wednesday, and public health predicts the trend will continue as the delta and omicron variants continue to spread. montreal’s positivity rate for covid-19 currently stands at about eight per cent.“the current situation is not really what we were planning or expecting two weeks before christmas, and i think it commands us to be more agile and resilient facing the omicron situation,” drouin said, adding that she might feel differently about gatherings if the city’s increase in daily case numbers had remained steady.“but for two to three days, we have seen an exponential increase and in that context, our contact-tracing is not sufficient, vaccination won’t be sufficient — we have to add a global reduction of contacts,” she said.as of wednesday, 95 confirmed and suspected cases of the omicron variant have been detected in montreal, 50 per cent of which are from travellers (mainly from the u.s., with some from europe and africa). public health will have a better understanding of how present omicron is in a matter of days, after it receives screening results.the average age for omicron cases in montreal is 32, and 90 per cent of them were in people who were fully vaccinated, drouin said. eighty per cent have symptoms, but there have been no hospitalizations or deaths thus far. the cases were detected in a community centre, two elementary schools, two universities, a daycare, gym, and a sports team.

“we know that right now it is mainly in young-age populations, so it is still uncertain what will happen if the omicron variant is introduced, for example, in places where we have elderly populations,” she said, adding that measures will be added in health-care settings and seniors’ residences.“that is why we’re asking people to get their third dose, if it’s indicated, as soon as possible,” she said.sonia bélanger, head of the ciusss du centre-sud-de-l’île-de-montréal said hospitalizations are relatively stable for the moment, but that she expects an increase. wednesday’s report had 113 people in hospital in montreal, including 34 in intensive care.the chief of critical care at the maisonneuve-rosemont hospital, dr. françois marquis, said it’s difficult to predict the impact omicron will have on hospitalizations, especially during the holidays, which are generally very busy. he noted many variables need to be considered: the variant, holiday gatherings (and whether or not people will be careful when they meet); the fact that children are currently being vaccinated; and that many people are receiving boosters.“so when you put a lot of this together, for us it is incredibly difficult to try to see what’s going to happen,” marquis said. “which one of those variables will be the prevalent one? which one will have the biggest effect?”“we are very watchful, meaning that we all know (omicron is) there,” he added. “it’s just a question of time, omicron will burst at some point in quebec.”marquis said his hospital never stopped being “ready to restart everything” after dealing with waves one through four of the pandemic.“we’re trying not to use the isolation chambers, we make sure we have communication channels that are open between the hospitals and the critical care specialists,” he said. “we always knew that the holidays will be coming and we know from many weeks ago that omicron is crawling toward canada.”marquis said reducing contacts during the holidays will play a major role, but that he thinks the government’s approach  — allowing 20-person gatherings but reserving the right to modify that rule at any time — makes sense.“you have to find a middle ground between what is physical health, mental health,” he said. “if you’re strictly just thinking about contagion … 20 (people at a gathering) is a little bit too much — like very too much. now this is not the single variable, people need to see their families, and so it’s a balancing act and it’s very difficult to put a number on that.”kthomas@postmedia.comtwitter.com/katelynthomasall our coronavirus-related news can be found at montrealgazette.com/tag/coronavirus.for information on vaccines in quebec, tap here.sign up for our email newsletter dedicated to local covid-19 coverage at montrealgazette.com/coronavirusnews.help support our local journalism by subscribing to the montreal gazette.