While there was no official press briefing from Quebec Premier Francois Legault or from any health official on Saturday, the latest figures on coronavirus in the province have now been released.
According to the Institut National de Santé Publique, there are now 17,521 known cases in the province, and a total of 805 deaths.
The number of people hospitalized currently sits at 1,130, with 258 of those people in intensive care.
Of the recorded cases, 3, 315 people have recovered from the virus.
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During a media briefing on Friday, Legault said many Quebecers “might be asking how we find ourselves in this situation right now and how we haven’t taken better care of our elderlies.”
He then said that if he could do it all over again, he would have “increased the wage of orderlies quicker” in his tenure, adding that he takes “full responsibility for this.”
He said the province came into the crisis “badly equipped” with orderlies and the pandemic has obviously made it worse.
On Wednesday, Legault stressed the need in Quebec to “fortify” staff at long-term care homes or CHSLDs.
“We need more, we’re missing people, we’re missing hands,” he urged.
Legault added that students who are finishing their healthcare studies should receive a call in the next few days asking to help out the province in CHSLDs.
Last week, Legault said 90% of the COVID-19 fatalities in the province are within citizens who are 70 years old and older, while 9% are between the ages of 60 and 69. On Thursday, Legault said he’s “happy” to see that 2,000 doctors throughout the province have responded to his request to reinforce staff members at long-term care homes throughout Quebec.
At Friday’s briefing, Legault says he “sincerely thanks” all the medical staff members who have stepped forward to help with staff shortages in CHSLDs.
– With files from Tyler Jadah