Quebec is ‘in a third wave,’ Dubé says, urging control and caution

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With cases back on the rise, Quebec Health Minister Christian Dubé said Monday the province is in a third wave of COVID-19.

Dubé made the remarks as he met the media at a pop-up vaccination clinic in Montreal North, one of the hot spots for the coronavirus in the city.

Quebec recorded 891 new cases of COVID-19 Monday, with the seven-day rolling average up to 879 — the highest since Feb. 17. Five new deaths were reported, hospitalizations dipped by three to 477 and there were six more patients in intensive care, for 120 in total.

“We don’t have to ask ourselves if there’s a third wave — we are in a third wave,” Dubé said. “What can we do about the third wave? Control it — we must fight as hard as we can to make sure variants are controlled for the longest possible.”

The province has faced criticism for relaxing confinement measures, with high schools returning all students to class as of Monday, gyms reopening last week and places of worship allowed to welcome up to 250 people. Dubé said his government is sticking to its guns, but watching the situation closely.

“We’re not opening gyms and schools just to be nice — we’re doing it for mental health,” Dubé said. “We want people to be happy. It’s tough what they went through over the past year.”

However, “if we think at one point this is too risky, don’t worry — we’ll adjust,” he said. “We have adjusted many times in the last year.”

At the same briefing, Dr. Mylène Drouin, the head of public health for Montreal, said almost 19 per cent of Montrealers have now received a first vaccine dose.

Meanwhile, Quebec announced it is suspending the AstraZeneca vaccine for anyone under 55, citing new guidance from Health Canada.

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Public health is concerned about the most vulnerable people getting to vaccination sites. That’s why the CIUSSS du Nord-de-l’Île-de-Montréal has opened several small pop-up vaccination clinics throughout the territory.

One such site was hosted at the Centre d’activités de Montréal-Nord pour le maintien de l’équilibre émotionnel, where 60 people were to be vaccinated Monday. Dubé and Drouin were in the neighbourhood to visit local organizations and raise awareness about the initiative. They then visited the vaccination clinic.

Mélanie Charbonneau, manager of the pop-up program, said there are 10 such clinics in the region and they are part of a pilot project to reach people who wouldn’t go to a mass vaccination site like the Olympic Stadium or the Palais des congrès.

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“These are clinics that are around for a day or two, and we place them in areas where the variant is more present, and we target vulnerable people,” she said, adding that health-care workers reach out to community groups, call people and make door-to-door visits to get them to come to the local vaccination sites.

The pop-up clinics started Thursday. About 1,000 doses are expected to be given as part of the program, mostly to those who are 60 and older.

Charbonneau said the campaign targets those with mental health issues and those with limited mobility, adding that she hopes the project continues beyond its planned Saturday end date.

At Parole d’excluEs, a community group that works with people who have mental health issues in Montreal North, news that a pop-up clinic will be on site Tuesday from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. was greeted with enthusiasm by a volunteer working there.

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“A lot of people are very anxious, and others are sick. These people wouldn’t get vaccinated if not for this initiative,” said Manon Fleurant, standing outside the community centre on Pelletier Ave. “People are worried about travelling, because they have to get on a bus, and they’re worried about the spread of the virus.”

Dubé said the vaccination campaign seems to be going well, even though there appear to be many unfilled appointments on the province’s clicsante.ca website, and those who work or volunteer at vaccination centres have observed that they are not operating at full capacity.

Dubé said he is concerned about the vacant appointments, adding that there were 90 unfilled spots at a vaccination clinic in St-Laurent.

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“So far, we have been able to limit the number of no-shows to two or three per cent,” he said.

He encouraged people who are eligible to get vaccinated as soon as possible.

Dubé said the province has been able to use all the vaccine doses that have been delivered so far.

“The real issue is that we don’t have enough vaccines,” he said.

Drouin said she is also concerned about minority groups being hesitant to get the vaccine. She said she plans to visit religious groups and target her department’s efforts toward raising awareness of the vaccine among the various communities in Montreal.

jmagder@postmedia.com

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