Public Health Officials Have Updated The Outbreak Curve For Montreal

• This is what the outbreak curve for Montreal looks like, based on data from April 2.
• Santé Montréal has also updated its list of cases by borough.
• Visit MTLBlog for more headlines.

On Thursday, Regional Public Health Director Dr. Mylène Drouin called Montreal the "epicentre" of the outbreak in Quebec. As of April 2, the territory (including the metropolis and on-island suburbs) had 2,642 of the province's total of 5,518 cases. The outbreak curve, which displays the number of cases over time, shows an increasingly steep climb since March 15, when the city had four confirmed infections.

Some areas are harder hit than others, though.

At the time of writing, five boroughs and one municipality count over 100 cases: Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce (253), Côte-Saint-Luc (147), LaSalle (119), Plateau-Mont-Royal (120), Rosemont–La-Petite-Patrie (133), and Ville-Marie (114).

But Drouin has confirmed that transmission is taking place across the island.

To slow the spread of the virus, the city has been the focus of increasingly severe recommendations to restrict travel.

Quebec Premier François Legault has asked no one to leave or visit Montreal unless it's "very necessary."

On Thursday, Mayor Plante further said that residents should remain in their own neighbourhoods.

All of these efforts are aimed at "flattening the curve" to prevent a sudden influx of patients that could overwhelm the health care system.

This is what the curve looks like based on data from April 2.

[rebelmouse-image 26885899 photo_credit="Sant\u00e9 Montr\u00e9al" expand=1 original_size="946x399"] Santé Montréal

Note, however, that the data for April 1 is incomplete.

Here, also, is the number of cases per borough and municipality:

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As for when residents can expect the curve to peak, Premier Legault said Wednesday that public health officials will release their projections in the coming days.

Despite the seemingly rapid increase in the number of cases in the province, he assured residents Thursday that the province is prepared for the situation, with enough supplies to last a week and more incoming and 6,000 available beds for patients.

Both provincial and municipal authorities, meanwhile, have said there are no plans to confine Montreal or establish the kind of police checkpoints seen in other Quebec regions to prevent non-essential travel.

Stay tuned for more news.