not surprisingly, most of the increase took place in densely populated montreal. seven more cases were reported from individuals arriving from outside quebec.
the rise of delta in quebec is coinciding with an uptick in the overall number of covid-19 cases since last month. on june 28, quebec reported 76 cases. a month later, the province declared 133.
but the number of covid-19 hospitalizations during this period has dropped from 124 to 61. what’s more, quebec’s delta tally thus far is much lower than in ontario (more than 4,000 cases), alberta (1,723) and british columbia (1,664).
still, although 62 per cent of quebec’s population above the age of 12 has been fully immunized, the province lags behind ontario, manitoba, new brunswick and nova scotia in the number of vaccine doses administered per capita.
the inspq is now studying the age breakdown in delta cases, but fafard said it would be logical to presume that most are arising in younger adults, many of whom have not yet received their second dose.
dr. matthew oughton
, an infectious-diseases specialist at the jewish general hospital, suggested the latest delta numbers in quebec warrant further investigation.
“this is where the epidemiological investigation by public health becomes important,” he said. “there is a big difference in risk of further increase if these 14 new cases (in montreal) came from a single exposure — a superspreading event and this is just the tip of the iceberg — versus 14 separate new cases with no known epi transmission to others.”