UNIVERSITY AND CEGEP | Quebec “lives the course” on students’ return this fall

Quebec CEGEP and universities have “staying the course” on their game plan this fall: Students will be able to return to campuses as early as the next school year. Even though the target to vaccinate 75% of 16-29 year olds has not yet been met, vaccination rates among students are “very encouraging”.




Henri Ouellet-Vezina

Henri Ouellet-Vezina
press

Pierre-Andre Normandine

Pierre-Andre Normandine
press

“Public Health confirms that the statistics for CEGEP and students in universities are very good. If we look only at the student segment, we are much more than the target age group figures, ”says the chief of staff of the Minister of Higher Education Nicolas Descroix.

For the time being, 70.6% of Quebecers aged 16 to 29 have actually received their first dose so far, and 38.9% of them have been fully vaccinated. But if we take into account only CEGEP and academics, more than 80% of them have received their first injection and most have already received their second dose or made an appointment to receive it.

Last May, Minister Danielle McCann put a condition for the return of CEGEP students and university students to campuses, saying that in the fall, they could be in class without distance if they were to be fully covered by a 75% ratio. Vaccine is given.

“Whether in classrooms or in common areas, students will be able to find themselves within meters of each other”, he proudly declared at a press briefing, but insisted that for “planning work”, “the epidemiological status” should also be there. ” Stable “.

solution, idea

Asked what measures would be taken, Mr Descroix suggested on Wednesday that Quebec is “still in discussions with public health”, but the plan announced in May “definitely remains in place”. So distancing will be abandoned, but it is not yet clear whether the mask will still have to be worn. This spring, the minister indicated it was “too early” to comment.

Quebec provides in its deconfinement plan that wearing masks will no longer be mandatory in most public places by the end of August if 75% of those 12 years of age and older have received two doses of the vaccine.

Officials do not use return to school as a way to encourage vaccination. “It’s also part of the thinking.

Many institutions such as Université Laval, Université de Sherbrooke and Université de Montréal already have their vaccination clinics, so we will be able to catch up with those who are late. But the goal is to get everyone vaccinated before the school year begins.

Nicolas Descroix, Chief of Staff to Minister Danielle McCano

a growing balance sheet

Meanwhile, Quebec saw a surge in new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, while the delta version is making itself more felt, mainly in Greater Montreal. However, the toll added no new deaths and hospitalizations continued to decline. In fact, there have been no deaths in the toll since the weekend.

The province reported 133 new cases on Wednesday, bringing the daily average count to 101 in seven days. The trend for one week is 24%. Quebec had not seen an average of COVID-19 cases above 100 for a month.

Quebec suspects that up to a third of the new COVID-19 cases reported in Quebec are due to the delta variant, which has led to a recent worldwide outbreak of cases.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Health Minister, Christian Dubey, indicated on Twitter that “56% of the new cases of Covid-19 are among youth aged 20-39”. “The statistics are clear: at least 75% of all our age groups need to be vaccinated. Talk to your loved ones. We have a lot of vaccines, it’s free and fast”, he pleaded, “he said. It is up to each Quebecer to get his second dose as soon as possible [diminuer] Impact of virus spread on healthcare networks”.

The increase in cases seen in Quebec is currently concentrated in Greater Montreal, mainly in Laval. And it is precisely in the metropolitan area that the majority of the 68 confirmed cases for a week have been caused by the delta variant. The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 has dropped by five. There are currently 61 of them, including 19 in intensive care.

In the past four weeks, 64% of new cases were in people who had not been vaccinated and 31% in people who had only received a single dose. Thus, although they represent more than half the population, those who are fully vaccinated account for only 5% of new cases.

To date, 6.2 million Quebecers have received at least one dose, or 72.5% of Quebecers. Of the numbers, 4.6 million received two, or 54.2% of the population. This ratio climbs to 64.2% if we take into account only Quebecers eligible for vaccination as well as those who have taken a single dose and contracted COVID-19.

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