We should expect an increase in hospitalizations in the coming weeks, because of the demonstration which stormed the parliament of Ottawa without respecting the sanitary measures yesterday, believes a public health expert.
“It is extremely disturbing. We know how out of breath the healthcare system is. It’s very unfortunate to see people on the ground treating COVID and saying it’s going to burst […] and on the other side, people who say “Well no, no problem”, deplores Nancy Delagrave, physicist and scientific coordinator of the COVID-STOP collective.
This demonstration of several thousand people, which was initially intended to challenge the compulsory vaccination of truckers, which came into force on January 15, now unites all anti-sanitary measures causes. Yesterday, several Quebecers went to Ottawa to support the movement.
However, since many of them are not vaccinated and do not respect basic sanitary measures, in particular social distancing and the wearing of masks, she fears a boom in cases in the coming weeks.
“Super Spreader”
Because even if the event takes place outside, where the risk of transmission is lower than inside, the demonstrators must move, stay and eat. And carpooling is particularly problematic, since the ventilation is rarely sufficient.
“We have all the conditions to create a super propagative event, continues the physicist. All these people meet in Ottawa, but afterwards, they will go home. It’s a very efficient way to release a variant.”
In fact, images reported by our journalists show that the measures are no longer respected inside the hotel.
A few seconds
“An interaction of a few seconds in someone’s breathing zone is enough to be infected,” explains Nancy Delagrave.
But, even outdoors, transmission of the Omicron variant is “much more frequent” than it was during the first waves, she adds.
“There is the impact of this event, but we must not forget that it will be added to the reopening of restaurants, the reopening of schools”, fears the physicist.
She would like the government to adopt an air treatment approach as soon as possible, to allow reopenings for all.
Remember that last May, the virus was invited on a bus carrying demonstrators from Beauce who came to raise their voices against health measures in Montreal.
Nearly fifty people had been called to be screened.
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