Quebec confirms 118 more coronavirus deaths as cases near 39,500
The Quebec government revealed that the province’s COVID-19-related death toll has reached 3,131, after announcing 118 more deaths since Monday afternoon.
As part of his daily briefings from Quebec City, Premier François Legault updated the provincial numbers, confirming 39,225 known cases and 1,841 hospitalizations, 186 of whom are in the ICU.
Currently, a reported 256,518 cases have turned up negative throughout Quebec.
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Accompanied by Danielle McCann, Quebec’s Minister of Health and Social Services, and Dr. Horacio Arruda, the province’s National Director of Public Health, Legault and company began the briefing all wearing masks.
Before providing an update on the numbers, Legault made a “strong suggestion” for all Quebecers to wear a face covering whenever they leave the house.
The premier says wearing a face mask is the third most “significant” impact to fight the virus, citing physical distancing and washing hands as the first two.
“You don’t need to have ones like the staff in hospitals do, but face masks are worn to protect others,” he said in French. “The mask will prevent you from containing others, it’s not something that is new in the world.”
Legault said that if all Quebecers wear masks, “everyone is protected.” He urged Quebecers who can’t maintain physical distancing (using public transit as an example), to wear masks. “It’s a bit weird, we will get used to it,” he said. “It’s a habit that is a good one that will allow us to come back to a normal life, I recommend to do it.”
Un des moyens de réduire au maximum la contagion, c’est de porter un masque (qui peut être artisanal) en public.
Si on prend toutes les précautions, on va pouvoir retrouver une vie plus normale.
🎥Suivez notre point de presse en direct 👇https://t.co/0ZmgmccvXh
— François Legault (@francoislegault) May 12, 2020
After updating provincial numbers, Legault said that 113 of Quebec’s new 118 COVID-19-related deaths occurred in Montreal. He specified that some of the data collected was “over a certain number of days,” and that the new deaths weren’t all necessarily from the past 24 hours.
Legault also urged Quebecers, especially in what is considered a “hot zone” (citing Montreal and Laval), to get tested. He said the government has the “capacity to do 16,000 to 17,000 tests a day, but we need clients, we need takers.”
He concluded his briefing by his long-standing plea of asking people, even those without the necessary qualifications, to come help out in long-term care homes.
Legault thanked teachers, students, and those who went back to work, saying it was a joy to see Quebecers be able to “organize themselves with only a few weeks’ notice.”
#COVID19 – Au Québec, en date du 12 mai 2020 à 13 h 15, la situation est la suivante:
39 225 cas confirmés
256 518 cas infirmés
1 841 personnes hospitalisées
3 131 décèsPour en savoir plus sur la situation au Québec : https://t.co/fiqW5E4y8R
— Santé Québec (@sante_qc) May 12, 2020
“Our way of living is going to change over the next few years,” he concluded, “I’m not saying it’s going to be easy but if we follow the directives — and I know Quebecers are able to follow guidelines — we will win this battle and beat this darn virus and progressively get back to a normal life.”
Canada’s coronavirus death toll now totals 5,049.
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