"We're not out of the woods": Quebec not yet ready to ease COVID-19 measures
On Thursday afternoon, Quebec Premier Francois Legault, accompanied by Minister of Health Christian Dubé and interim National Director of Public Health Luc Boileau, provided an update on the province’s COVID-19 health measures.
“We finally see the light at the end of the tunnel,“ he said in French, before announcing that Quebec has reached its “peak” in Omicron infection.
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Despite lifting the curfew and reopening schools this week, Legault said that Quebec was not yet ready to ease more of the province’s restrictions. “We’re not out of the woods. And one of the keys is vaccination.”
On fait le point sur la situation sanitaire au Québec.
🎥 Suivez notre diffusion en direct 👉 https://t.co/UfGjGaUzvD
— François Legault (@francoislegault) January 20, 2022
“Still, we’re at the worst point so far in the pandemic.”
While Ontario has announced a plan to ease measures by the end of January, which includes opening restaurants, Quebec says they are not ready. “The situation is different” said Legault. “I can’t talk about the Ontario approach… I follow the recommendations of Quebec public health.”
The premier also waved the possibility of a “Plan B,” which involves more intense measures that have not yet been tried. He insisted that this plan, which has never been applied, will not be necessary “if we stay at the current level of hospitalizations.”
Quebec currently has 3,411 hospitalized COVID-19 patients. The premier says that 12,000 health staff are also absent from work right now, a figure he insists is far too high. “With the number of employees we have, we cannot afford more.”
Legault announced that more initiatives will be taken to vaccinate the over 560,000 Quebecers who have not yet received their first or second doses.
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