As confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Quebec reached 20,126 as of April 21st, a disproportionate number of them have been located in the Greater Montreal area. Although the majority of recent cases reported in the province are being attributed to the elderly population over 70 years old – with the horrifying situations discovered in senior long-term care facilities, it is still disconcerting. To date, there is now 9,348confirmed cases in the city, according to Sante Montreal (Montreal Public Health) and there are areas in Montreal of concern – with more cases than others. The highest being Cote-des-Neiges/Notre-Dame-de-Grace with 907 cases and the lowest being Senneville with Zero cases to date. How can that be explained?
There has been much speculation about the numbers. Does it have to do with how well the physical-distancing rules are being respected or the age demographic in each area? Does it have to do with access to health care or number of people per household? Does it have to do with access to information? Language? Culture? All questions with no real answers. However, after looking into some statistics and numbers, perhaps it has to do with population density in the different areas and boroughs of Montreal.
Here is list of reported COVID-19 cases as of April 21st on the Island: (To compare the number of confirmed cases to the distribution of case % and rate per 100,000 people visit the Montreal Public Health website page. Go to ‘Current situation in Montreal’ and then click on ‘Number of confirmed cases in Montreal, by borough, linked city’.)
– Ahuntsic-Cartierville: 753
– Anjou: 154
– Baie-D’Urfe: 5
– Beaconsfield 16
– *COTE-DES-NEIGES/NOTRE-DAME-DE-GRACE: 907
– Cote-Saint-Luc: 316
– Dollard-des-Ormeaux: 103
– Dorval: 55
– Hampstead: 32
– Kirkland: 25
– Lachine: 108
– LaSalle: 114
– L’ile-Bizard–Sainte-Genevieve: 38
– Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve: 542
– Montreal-East: 11
– Montreal-North: 722
– Montreal-West: 7
– Mount-Royal: 67
– Outremont: 165
– Pierrefonds–Roxboro: 117
– Plateau-Mont-Royal: 380
– Pointe-Claire: 46
– Riviere-des-Prairies/Pointe-aux-Trembles: 529
– Rosemont-La Petite Patrie: 467
– Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue: 7
– Saint-Laurent: 302
– Saint-Leonard: 353
– *SENNEVILLE: 0
– South-West: 381
– Verdun: 417
– Ville-Marie: 274
– Villeray/Saint-Michel/Parc-Extension: 602
– Westmount: 72
– Territory to be confirmed: 968 (Home addresses are currently being documented and therefore territories cannot be confirmed at this time).
No matter what the numbers are, there are still many unknowns and Montrealers must remain diligent in following the rules of the COVID-19 Emergency Measures in the fight against the pandemic. Be safe and be healthy!
