Universit Laval medical students forced online after COVID-19 outbreak

Medical students enrolled atUniversit LavalinQuebec Citywill be back to learning online until April 1, following a COVID-19 outbreak.

The program's directoremailed studentsTuesday informing them of the situation after several students reported that they had tested positive forSARS-CoV-2.

"We have been made aware of an outbreak in the community which is affecting several of the medical students," said Marc Bouchardin his email.

"In this context, the doctor of medicine program management informs you that all program activities are moving to remote mode from now until April 1, 2022, inclusively."

University spokespersonAndre-Anne Stewart saidthe number of infected students is unknown, but the outbreak is due to a social activity held off campus. She saidthe natureof the gatheringisunknown.

"As a preventive measure, we decided immediately to move the doctor of medicine programonline ... to protect the security and health of the students."

Exams scheduledfor this week will berescheduled for a later date, and pre-clerkship lectures will take place remotely. Health-care institutions where students are doing their clinical internships will be contacted and those internships rescheduled..

In-person classeswill resume Monday, April 4.

Quebec COVID-19 cases on the rise

The outbreak comes as Quebec is seeing an uptick in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations after a two-month decline.

On Wednesday, the province reported a single-day total of 2,111 newly confirmed coronavirus cases.

Given the limited availability of PCRtests and the use of home testing kits, daily case totals are believed to be an underrepresentation of the virus's spread.

It is, nevertheless, the first time in more than a month that the province has reported more than 2,000 cases in a single day.

COVID-19 cases have been climbing steadily in Europe, justas restrictions continue to lift across Quebec.

"You'd have to be a little naive to think that we will not have the same consequences," saidDr.Donald Vinh, aninfectious diseases specialist at the Montreal University Health Centre.

Earlier this month, Quebec Health Minister Christian Dubannounced mask ruleswill be liftedin most public areas, including in CEGEPs and universities, no later than mid-April.

Asked if Universit Laval would do away with the measure then,Stewart said the institution is "rigorously" following the province's masking rules and will followadvice from public health.

Quebec's interim public health director, Dr. Luc Boileau, will hold a newsconference at 2 p.m. to provide an update on the province's epidemiological situation.