Update of COVID-19 expected in Quebec

For the first time in 2023, Quebec Health Director Dr. Luc Boileau to provide an update on the development of the COVID-19 pandemic and other contagious respiratory diseases in Quebec.

Boileau will be seen by Dr. Caroline Quach-Thanh, a pediatrician and microbiologist-infectiologist at CHU Sainte-Justine.

Quach-Thanh is also President of the Quebec Immunization Committee (CIQ), which is tasked with advising the Department of Health on Quebec vaccination strategies. It is therefore likely that she will provide clarifications on recommendations for vaccination against COVID-19.

Opposition parties made it clear on Thursday morning that public health messages need to be restated.

Quebec Solidaire parliamentary leader Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois said it has been difficult to follow the guidelines for several weeks and even several months.

“I think I’m a relatively informed man, and even I often have trouble following and understanding the Quebec government’s recommendations closely,” he said. “Everyone has understood that we have entered a new phase in managing the pandemic, but the importance of clear, simple and concise communication remains.”

On the Parti Québécois side, MNA Pascal Bérubé also wants to know where the province stands with COVID-19.

“In the last few weeks there have been people with masks and people without masks. Everyone is on their own, but clear instructions are needed,” he asked. “Are we still in a pandemic?”

Bérubé said he’s concerned that if Quebec stops hammering home the message to protect yourself from the virus, it will relax lockdown measures, and it could have consequences for the health network, which is already in bad shape.

According to the Department of Health’s daily update, there have been five more deaths related to COVID-19, but they all occurred more than a week ago. In hospitals, 1,439 patients have the coronavirus, including 452 who were hospitalized specifically for the disease. Of these, 25 people are being treated in an intensive care unit.

Additionally, 2,230 healthcare workers are out of work due to preventive withdrawal, isolation or pending test results.

This report from The Canadian Press was first published in French on February 2, 2023.