Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante Has Tested Positive For COVID-19

Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante has tested positive for COVID-19.

She made the announcement on Twitter on Saturday afternoon.

"Unfortunately, I tested positive for COVID-19," she tweeted.

"The Omicron variant is very contagious. Let's be careful and respect the public health rules. We will ride this wave together."

Plante added that she will be continuing her usual activities virtually while she is in isolation.

Earlier the same day, in the wake of soaring COVID-19 case counts and new health measures, Premier François Legault took to social media to ask Quebecers for a "Christmas truce."

"What we all realized this week, the experts, Christian Dubé, Dr. Arruda and me, is that the Omicron variant is progressing at a lightning speed. It's hard to imagine. We haven't seen anything this overwhelming since the pandemic began," he said.

"If I had one wish this morning, it would be that we all call a Christmas truce. If we could just for 2-3 weeks stop the attacks, on social networks and in everyday life, it would help us all get through [...] Let's call a truce and focus on what we have to do in the next few weeks. Reduce our contacts, go for a 3rd dose, do everything we can to relieve our caregivers and take care of each other. It would be a nice collective Christmas present to ourselves."

On Saturday, the province reported its second-highest number of new cases since the start of the pandemic — 3,631 — while hospitalizations saw their largest spike in almost a year.

This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.