COVID-19: Montreal brings back state of emergency as Omicron variant spreads | Globalnews.ca

Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante has a declared a state of emergency as the number of cases of COVID-19 skyrockets in the city.

“Just yesterday, Montreal recorded 1,455 new cases of COVID,” she said during a media briefing by Zoom on Tuesday.

Under a state of emergency, the city is granted exceptional powers to free up resources to deal with the crisis at hand, she said.

“With the announcement made by Quebec yesterday, the city is giving itself the means to protect its essential workers while maintaining public services,” Plante said.

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On Monday, Quebec Health Minister Christian Dubé announced the closure of schools, gyms, cinemas and bars among other restrictions meant to curb the spread of the virus.

“The Omicron variant is forcing us to take extra precautions and be extra vigilant,” Plante said.

During Tuesday’s briefing, Plante emphasized the importance of taking care of the most vulnerable.

“That’s why I’m announcing that on Wednesday, we’ll double the budget in terms of the sums allocated to the fight against homelessness,” she said.

The hope is to make 1,550 beds available in shelters, overflow shelters and warming stations. Currently the city is 116 beds shy of its objective.

She said Montreal is working with community organizations and providing its expertise to the provincial government and the health network by identifying potential sites for additional beds.

“With the number of cases going up with the Omicron variant, we want to be ready if there’s an outbreak  in a shelter for example. We will need more beds, more sites, this is why having the state of emergency will help us.”

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James Hughes, president and CEO of the Old Brewery Mission said, advocates have been calling for more resources for months.

“The city can now put its hands on new facilities,” he said. “That’s the good news. The bad news, is that this is coming very late in the day.”

“We’re in the middle of winter, and trying to staff up a new facility is exceptionally difficult.”

Hughes fears with current staff shortages across the network, the help is coming too late.

“We’re very much supportive of the measures, but the practical challenges are very significant.”

A previous state of emergency in Montreal, which lasted 17 months, was lifted on Aug. 27.

At the time, officials cited high vaccination rates, coupled with Quebec’s forthcoming vaccine passport system, for allowing the city to downgrade from a state of emergency to alert mode.

“I know the situation is difficult, but we’ve lived through it before and we know we can get through it again,” Plante said. “So I’m inviting each and every one of you to respect public health guidelines, limit your contacts, because this virus, Omicron is extremely contagious and is spreading very fast.”

Plante herself is currently in isolation after having tested positive for COVID-19 on Saturday.

“I’m a little low energy and my voice is not entirely back. That being said, I feel much better,” she said.

Plante said her situation shows just how contagious the variant is, and credited being vaccinated for not experiencing severe symptoms.

“Even though we are vaccinated, it is still hitting us,” she said, “probably less — which is a good thing, which is what we all got vaccinated for and this is why I encourage people to get vaccinated.”

On Monday Dubé said while being doubly vaccinated offered only 30 per cent coverage against the Omicron variant, a third dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, such as Moderna or Pfizer, boosts protection to 75 per cent.