By Gordon Lambie
Due to an increase in demand for COVID-19 tests in the Eastern Townships, the CIUSSS de l’Estrie – CHUS is reporting that delays for test results are now in excess of 72 hours in the region.
In a press release issued on Monday afternoon, the regional healthcare establishment stated that efforts are being made to clear the backlog and get people their results as soon as possible. It also encouraged those going to be tested to consent to receiving negative results by email or text message to speed up the process, and to not go back for an additional test before receiving the results of a first.
Meanwhile, Police in the Sherbrooke and Magog areas are reporting a busier weekend than usual when it comes to violations of public health guidelines.
The Sherbrooke Police reported 54 tickets for curfew violations and another 14 for illegal gatherings over the days from April 6 to April 12.
Over the period from April 9 to 12, the Memphrémagog police reported 23 calls and complaints regarding gatherings on their territory and issued 45 fines: three for curfew violations, four for failure to wear a mask, and 38 for illegal gatherings.
According to Lieutenant Carl Pépin, the “vast majority” of those being fined for breaking the rules are coming from outside the region.
Pépin also highlighted the specific situations of the D-Vert climbing gym on avenue de la Plage des Cantons in Magog, which was closed for a failure to respect restrictions, an additional illegal gathering at the same cabin in Austin that was host to a problematic party last weekend, and an anti-mask protest that saw roughly 30 people march along St-Patrice West and Principale West on Saturday afternoon.
The Province of Quebec reported 1,599 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday, bringing the total number of people infected to 327,982, with 12,971 active cases. The Province recorded only two new deaths, for a total of 10,744 since the start of the pandemic, but the number of hospitalizations increased to 630 hospitalizations, a jump of 22. The number of people in intensive care increased by three, to 142.
After a weekend that saw daily case numbers consistently in the 40s, the number of new cases in the Eastern Townships dropped back down to 26 on Monday, bringing the total number of infections to 12,411 with 311 active cases.
There were no new deaths, hospitalizations, or people in intensive care in the region since the last report.
A total of 1,944,877 doses of vaccine have been administered so far out of 2,429,695 doses that have been received in total, accounting for 22.8 per cent of the provincial population. In the Eastern Townships 98,885 doses have been administered, covering 20.1 per cent of the local population. Vaccine coverage in individual regions of the Townships ranges from 16.9 per cent in the Coaticook area to 25 per cent in the Memphremagog area.
In terms of vaccine supply, 55,160 doses of AstraZeneca that were received in Quebec last week are still in transit through the health and social services network. For the week of April 12, Quebec is expected to receive: 230,490 doses of Pfizer and 176,400 doses of Moderna.
The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 variants in the province increased to 16,716 on Monday, 297 of which have been in the Townships.
