Shortly after Quebec loosened the COVID-19 restrictions earlier this week, health officials have now they’ve detected a total of eleven cases of COVID-19 variants in Quebec.
Public health director Horacio Arruda made the announcement Tuesday afternoon, noting two of the cases were found in the Abitibi-Témiscamingue region, and a third in Montreal.
The two Abitibi-Témiscamingue cases have been identified as the South African variant while the one in Montreal had its origins in California.
When referring to the "outbreaks," Arruda said that the variant's spread in Abitibi is under control.
"We had to remain vigilant," he said.
Provincial authorities had previously announced there had been eight patients infected with COVID-19 variants in the province, all which were infected with the U.K. variant.
"There are always more cases than we can predict," Arruda said. “The present numbers in Quebec are relatively low" when compared with other provinces with many more variant cases per capita, including Alberta and Ontario.
With the news, Premier François Legault announced the government hasn’t ruled out tightening COVID-19 measures before March break. If needed, Legault said he will announce further restrictions towards the end of February.
