Most COVID-19 cases in Montreal are linked to unvaccinated five- to 11-year-olds and their parents, according to Montreal's public health director.

This comes days after Quebec confirmed its first case of the omicron variant.

At a news conference Wednesday, Dr. Mylène Drouin said Montreal's COVID-19 cases have gradually increased for the fifth consecutive week.

"We're at the peak that we had at mid-September during the fourth wave," she said.

The number of reported COVID-19 cases in Montreal currently stands at 205 per day.

So far, a third of children in the province have either been vaccinated or have already got an appointment and 14 per cent of children have received the vaccine.

One main determinant of kids not getting vaccinated is whether their parent was vaccinated, she said.

"We have a specific concern for this age group," she said.

"Of course, the new cases are mainly among the population that is not vaccinated," she added. "And the group that can be referred to as their parents 35- to 54-years-old group."

Some parents see it as less important, but Montreal public health is trying to open a dialogue with them, Drouin said.

Despite the first omicron case in the province, Drouin said it is still too early to determine the variant's impact on hospitalizations.

"We know little on the characteristics of this variant," she said.

Scientists are still trying to understand if it is more more transmissible or causes a more severe illness, she said.

"While we are waiting for this information, we have to be vigilant," said Drouin.

Currently, 66 people are hospitalized, including 31 in intensive care because of COVID-19 infections. Five hundred hospital beds in Montreal are available for more patients that may need to be hospitalized.

Drouin also said public health would adopt a "suppressive approach" to tackling the variant.

"We will be more aggressive," Drouin said. "We will isolate contacts even though they are doubly vaccinated, and we will do so until we have more information about this variant."

Drouin noted that certain neighbourhoods continue to be disproportionately affected by the pandemic.

Neighourhoods reporting a COVID-19 positivity rate of five per cent or higher are Anjou, Pointe-aux-Trembles, Saint-Léonard, Saint-Michel, and Côtes-des-Neiges.

"We're currently managing more than 180 active outbreaks," she said.

Of those cases, 55 per cent of them are in elementary schools and daycare centres, including seven outbreaks in homeless shelters and "a few small outbreaks" in workplaces.

Three outbreaks have also been reported in health-care settings.

Contrary to Premier François Legault, Drouin expressed her hesitancy to increase the number of people allowed at gatherings. She thinks it is too soon to allow 25 people to gather, she said.

"If there are guidelines to give, obviously, if you have symptoms, avoid gathering and get tested," she said. "But at this stage, I'd stay careful."