Canada is feeling the brunt of the latest wave of Covid-19, mainly because of the ommicron variant. In the past 24 hours, the country registered more than 21,000 new infections. The situation in Quebec is of great concern as it has 55% of infections. The health system of the French-speaking province has been hit by the fact that about 7,000 of its employees had to be absent due to contamination; the number is expected to reach 10,000 in a few days. Faced with this scenario, Quebec’s health minister Christian Dubé announced that some of the health workforce will be able to continue working under certain conditions, despite testing positive for screening.
“We face a social problem. We have more and more patients, but fewer and fewer staff to care for them,” Dubé said at a press conference on Tuesday. The minister emphasized that the “dizzy increase in the number of cases does not leave many options”. Christian Dubé and Horacio Arruda, General Manager of Public Health of Quebec, reported that health professionals who have tested positive in a screening test and who show no symptoms can continue their duties, taking into account the priorities and risk management of each center. Dubé and Arruda pointed out that more details will follow in the coming days. Personnel from other services considered essential are also covered by this new measure, cataloged by Dubé as a “paradigm shift”.
The Federation of Health and Social Services, Quebec’s largest union of health workers, said in a statement that the directive could pose a risk to more workers. “The mismanagement of the pandemic once again puts the health network staff and therefore patients at risk,” said the president, Réjean Leclerc, who asked the government to apply various measures, such as the selection of staff. of workers between centers and improvement of ventilation. The provinces of Manitoba, Alberta and Ontario could follow the same route as Quebec, according to their authorities, regarding asymptomatic health workers.
Christian Dubé stated that vaccination efforts in Quebec continue. Currently, individuals over 60 years of age and personnel considered essential can receive the third dose. The rest of the population can make an appointment in the first weeks of January. 89% of Quebec residents over the age of five have received at least one regimen and 82% have received two, while 14% have received all three injections. Dubé spoke directly to the unvaccinated and asked them to think about the burden they put on the health system, as they are the ones who arrive in intensive care in proportionately greater numbers. “You are part of the solution,” he said.
Quebec ordered the closure of schools, cinemas, bars, gyms and casinos on December 20. Home meetings from Sunday were also limited to a maximum of six people. The province is evaluating the possibility of shortening the isolation period for individuals who test positive and show no symptoms. This period would go from 10 to five days, as announced Monday by the US health authorities.
Sign up here for the EL PAÍS América newsletter and receive all important information about current events in the region
