Masks may be less and less common among Montrealers as of late, but the reasons for wearing them aren't going anywhere. In fact, they're actively getting worse, despite loosening public health guidelines. On July 12, 2021, Quebec reported 60 new COVID-19 cases. On the same date a year later, the province announced 2,164 new cases.

COVID-related hospitalizations, meanwhile, have dipped below 1,000 only twice this year — pressure on the hospital systems remains intense.

What's more, recent statistics from the INSPQ show that more Quebecers have died from COVID-19 so far in 2022 than during the entirety of 2021.

As contagious new subvariants like BA.4 and BA.5 spread, public health officials have begun introducing plans for additional rounds of vaccination, but mask mandates and other public health measures have still been lifted across the province.

Quebec reported just over three thousand COVID-19 deaths in all of 2021. Since January 2022, the province has reported nearly 3,800 COVID-19 deaths.

On a regional level, Montreal has had the most cumulative COVID-19 deaths since the onset of the pandemic: 5,532 reported as of the date of publication. This is more than double the number of deaths in Montérégie, the region with the second highest number (2,281), despite a population that's only roughly 28% smaller (as of 2021) than that of the Montreal region.

Although Quebec has more COVID-19 cases than any other province — 8,662 during the last measured week, June 26 to July 2 — Quebec is also performing the most tests (64,800 this week) and reported fewer deaths than Ontario during the same time frame: 30 compared to Ontario's 43 deaths.

In her most recent statement, Chief Public Health Officer Theresa Tam explained that we shouldn't expect progress to be linear. Instead, especially with an increase in social gatherings, festivals, and travel, it's important to continue to improve ventilation and wear a "well-fitted" mask, she said.

The mask mandate was lifted on public transit last month, a day after Tam's statement encouraging continued adherence to public health guidelines.