Experts say masks still a top tool as Quebec considers prolonging mandate

Montreal-based study estimates Quebec saw up to 32,000 new daily COVID-19 cases last week Other provinces have resisted calls to prolong or reimpose public health restrictions, even as cases have risen in some parts of the country.Ontario Premier Doug Ford said Monday that his province, which has seen a one-week, 30 per cent rise in hospitalizations, can manage what he described as a “little spike” in COVID-19.

Ford said a combination of increased hospital capacity and the advent of antiviral drugs have left the province better prepared.“We expected a little spike,” Ford said. “We said that over the last months, but that little spike, we’re being able to manage it.”The Ford government has previously said it did not plan to reimpose public health restrictions.

COVID-19 spreading fast in Quebec’s Gaspé region, which was spared by last wave Two experts who spoke with The Canadian Press said that while masking cannot fully stop a COVID-19 wave, it remains one of the best defences to cut transmission and protect the wearer and those around them.McGill chemistry professor and aerosols expert Parisa Ariya said there are “hundreds” of studies that have shown that masks are successful in reducing transmission.

While efficacy varies, she said, those studies have shown that the ability to filter out the virus ranges from about 50 per cent for three-layer cloth masks to more than 90 per cent for top models.“Many good masks actually work better than some of the Chinese vaccinations that were good up to 50 per cent,” she said in a phone interview Monday. “A very good mask can go to over 80 per cent, so that’s very good protection.”She said there’s a simple reason why masks work against COVID-19, including the most recent.