In recent weeks, more than thirty cases of COVID-19 have occurred in the MRC de Maskinongé. The source of contamination remains unknown for the majority of them, so much so that the CIUSSS-MCQ has decided to launch a screening offensive in the MRC.
Epidemiological investigations are particularly difficult and curbing the spread of the virus, when the source cannot be identified, becomes a great challenge.
To achieve this, the regional health authorities want to step up screening in the territory. The capacity at the designated Louiseville clinic has been increased from 37 to 65 daily beaches.
To facilitate access to the population of slightly more remote municipalities, a mobile clinic will be deployed Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at the Saint-Alexis-des-Monts community hall. Citizens can go there without an appointment from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.
And the variants?
While all of Quebec is monitoring the arrival of these new, more contagious strains, the CIUSSS-MCQ has ensured that no variant has been identified in Mauricie-Center-du-Quebec. On the other hand, the word is circulating and according to experts we must prepare for a quick arrival.
“There are already several cases in other regions, so it’s obvious that there will be some here. These variants are transmitted more quickly. This is their main characteristic. It should be understood that these viruses have a mutation in one of the proteins on the surface of the virus, so they enter human cells more efficiently. Consequently, they replicate more strongly and they are transmitted more efficiently from one person to another, ”explained in an interview the professor of virology at the University of Quebec in Trois-Rivières, Lionel Berthoux.
In a worst-case scenario, these variants could cause daily increases of 20,000 infections in a third wave. Currently in Mauricie-Center-du-Québec, 1,800 screening tests are done every day. Positive samples are analyzed in the laboratory to monitor the appearance of these variants.
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