
No need to panic over Omicron, but now's the time to vaccinate kids, says Montreal public health director
CTV
Montreal is seeing a steady rise in cases, and while it's too early to know much about the Omicron variant, it's a good time to start taking precautions -- especially getting kids vaccinated, said the city's public health director.
"I think we have a vigilant approach with Omicron, but we are not at a stage where we have to panic," said Dr. Mylene Drouin in a press conference Wednesday.
Quebec as a whole saw a major spike in COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, jumping from around 800 to almost 1,200 new infections.
The recent rise in cases in the city has been steady but slow. Montreal is currently at the same level as it was at in mid-September of 2020, as that previous wave was gaining steam.
On the city's part, it's decided "the first strategy is prudence," Drouin said, which partly means getting ready to ramp up DNA sequencing of samples and monitoring suspected Omicron cases.