The Government of Quebec didn't hold a press conference on Saturday, May 2, but the numbers relating to the novel coronavirus situation in the province were still released. Currently, there are 29,656 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Quebec. Yesterday, on May 1, there were 28,648 cases reported. Thus, there has been a rise in 1,008 cases within the past 24 hours. Right now, there continue to be 1,738 individuals hospitalized due to the virus, with 222 of them in intensive care. Since the beginning of the pandemic, there have now been 2,136 deaths related to COVID-19 in Quebec. A recent study conducted by Université de Montréal estimates that there were actually over 250,000 total cases in Quebec as of April 22. This discrepancy, Joshua Lewis, an economist at UdeM who co-authored the study, said demonstrates how different standards in testing within provinces "can greatly mask the true severity of the outbreak." Because of such, the people who conducted the study believe more testing is necessary amongst the general population. In other news, Montreal announced on May 2 that it's extending its state of emergency, once again. This time, until May 5. Below is a breakdown of every Quebec region's case count as of May 2. Institut national de santé publique Québec | Official website Montreal remains the region with the highest number of COVID-19 cases, with a total of 14,599. Legault has previously reminded the public that "the battle is not won" in Montreal yet. View this post on Instagram Si on veut commencer le déconfinement au cours des prochaines semaines, c’est important de respecter les consignes. La bataille n’est pas gagnée, surtout à Montréal. Il n’est pas question de faire des rassemblements. Si on relâche notre discipline maintenant, on va notamment devoir retarder la réouverture des écoles primaires. Ça veut dire qu’il y a des jeunes vulnérables qui ne pourront pas retourner à l’école, alors qu’ils en ont grandement besoin. Ils ont besoin qu’on soit exemplaires. On a encore de gros efforts à faire pour passer au travers. On doit absolument respecter la distance de deux mètres avec les autres personnes. Quand ce n’est pas possible, on doit mettre un masque. Et on doit surtout faire attention aux personnes de 60 ans et plus. Je compte sur vous! Glisse la photo à gauche 👉🏻 A post shared by François Legault (@francoislegault.pm) on Apr 30, 2020 at 12:38pm PDT During his press conference on Thursday, April 30, Legault said: "When I announced the dates for the schools then for the companies, if the situation deteriorates, there will be no opening in Montreal." With this, he also reminded all Quebecers that any form of gathering, unless it's deemed essential, remains forbidden for the time being. As of right now, the government is preparing to reopen certain businesses in Montreal on May 11 and elementary schools and daycares in the region on May 19. But, the situation continues to be monitored closely. Legault has mentioned that he won't hesitate to push back deconfinement if social distancing measures aren't respected, or "if the situation deteriorates," in the upcoming days.
