Ontario, Quebec Weigh Shorter Isolation Period for Covid Patients After CDC Shift
Ontario, Quebec Weigh Shorter Isolation Period for Covid Patients After CDC Shift
(Bloomberg) -- Canada’s two largest provinces are considering cutting quarantine times for people with Covid-19 after U.S. health officials recommended reducing the isolation period to five days for people who are no longer experiencing symptoms.
Quebec, currently the hardest-hit province in Canada with new coronavirus cases, is for now loosening the rules only for health-care workers -- allowing some to remain on the job even when testing positive. Ontario postponed a news conference by its chief medical officer to give officials more time to examine the evidence on isolation periods behind the new guidance by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Quebec reported a record 12,833 new cases on Tuesday, blowing past its previous high of 10,713. The province had a very high positivity rate of 26.8%, suggesting a significant number of cases are being missed in the official numbers.
Christian Dube, the province’s health minister, said Quebec’s soaring case numbers mean it must allow health workers to remain on the job in some cases even when testing positive. Dubé said Quebec will otherwise soon have 10,000 health-care workers off the job in isolation, an untenable situation.
“Omicron’s contagion is so exponential that a huge number of personnel have to be withdrawn, and that poses a risk to the network’s capacity to treat Quebecers,” Dube said at a Tuesday news conference. “It forces us to make a paradigm shift.”
Currently, Quebec requires a 10-day isolation period for people testing positive for Covid-19, which Dube said the government is now reviewing.
In Ontario, a health ministry spokesperson said the provincial government is evaluating its situation “in light of the recently updated guidance” from the CDC. The province had 8,825 new cases, Health Minister Christine Elliott said.
All signs are that the omicron variant continues to see explosive growth in Canada, with provinces across the country setting records for new positives cases despite bottlenecks in processing tests.
Quebec says it has 702 patients in the hospital with Covid-19, the highest number since the spring. However, Dubé said that as many as 30% may be patients who were admitted for other reasons and have incidentally tested positive for Covid-19. He also said there are early signs the omicron variant is sending fewer patients into intensive care than the delta variant did.
Ahead of Christmas, Quebec ordered bars, gyms and entertainment venues to close and restricted restaurant capacity and operating hours. As of Sunday, the province capped private gatherings to six people or two family bubbles. Dubé said the restrictions will be evaluated as the hospitalization data from this wave of cases becomes clearer. Ontario required many businesses to operate at 50% capacity to reduce the spread.
The two provinces have about 60% of Canada’s population.
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