1) The age group that’s reporting the most dramatic increase in #COVID19 infections in Montreal — as well as the highest absolute number in the past two weeks — includes high school students. In this thread, I will revisit the topic of the #coronavirus in the educational system.

2) In the chart below, released Monday by the Montreal public health department, you will note that the 10-to-19 age group counted 581 #COVID19 cases in the past 14 days. That’s higher than any other demographic, including the often-cited 20-to-29 age group.

3) Since Aug. 25, just before the start of the school year, the number of #COVID19 cases in the 10-to-19 age group has soared by 104.38%, by far the biggest increase of any cohort. The next demographic that recorded the second steepest increase is the 5-to-9 age group (84.46%).

4) I’d been tracking these two demographics since late August, wondering why public health authorities were not commenting more often on school children. On Friday, the Montreal public health department finally acknowledged that most #COVID19 outbreaks are occurring in schools.

5) Meanwhile, the Quebec Education Ministry made public a chart on Monday (see below) revealing that the number of classes shuttered across the province grew to 956, up by 18 in a single day. The number of active cases climbed by 95 to another record: 2472.

6) Since Friday, three Quebec schools have had to close temporarily after #COVID19 outbreaks, raising to at least four that are currently shut in the province. Since Sunday, http://covidecolesquebec.org  has added at least 17 more schools with at least one case to its evolving list.

7) This pronounced trend requires two things: first, more action to stem the spread of #COVID19 among students, and second, further investigation to determine whether schools, in fact, are now driving transmission of the #coronavirus in the community.

8) Quebec has so far been reluctant to heed the appeal of experts and parents to install air scrubbers in schools. But one measure it could implement easily is requiring all high school students — not just those in Grades 9,10 and 11 — to study at home one out of two days.

9) On Monday, Montreal posted 224 #COVID19 cases, compared with 320 confirmed ones in Toronto. But Montreal’s rolling seven-day average is higher than Toronto’s at 119.07 cases per million population, up from 117.89 the day before.

10) For months, the north and east ends of the city were observing most new #COVID19 cases. But in the last few days, the west end of Montreal has been declaring far more cases. (See the chart below.) How many of them are coming from schools? End of thread. Stay safe.