Quebec’s early response to the COVID-19 pandemic in long-term care properties was hampered by labour and gear shortages and by ignorance as to how the novel coronavirus spreads, a senior well being official informed a coroner’s inquest Thursday.
Dr. Richard Massé, a strategic medical adviser to Quebec’s public well being director, informed the inquest that the province had problem securing private protecting gear throughout the early days of the pandemic, when there was a “ferocious battle” for issues corresponding to masks and assessments.
Even when authorities had sufficient protecting gear, it’s unclear whether or not they would have identified one of the best methods to make use of it, he informed the inquiry investigating the excessive demise toll in long-term care properties in spring 2020. Till late March 2020, it was thought the virus spreads largely by individuals with signs, he added.
“There have been individuals who mentioned, ‘we expect it’s transmitted by asymptomatic individuals,’ however there was no consensus,” he mentioned, including that neither authorities in the USA nor on the World Well being Group acknowledged asymptomatic unfold as a major mode of transmission.
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Public well being officers, he mentioned, didn’t have a way of how quickly the virus was spreading at long-term care services, together with at Montreal’s Residence Herron, a personal centre the place 47 individuals died.
It was a shock to see there have been outbreaks of that magnitude that quickly,” he mentioned.
Public well being director is scheduled to testify later Thursday.
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Earlier within the day, Quebec reported 663 new circumstances of COVID-19 and 4 extra deaths attributed to the novel coronavirus.
Well being officers mentioned COVID-19-related hospitalizations dropped by 5 from the day earlier than, to 215, and 42 individuals had been in intensive care, a drop of three.
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Quebec’s public well being institute mentioned 90.8 per cent of residents 12 and over have obtained at the least one dose of vaccine and 88.3 per cent had been thought-about adequately vaccinated.
The institute mentioned Quebec’s northern Nunavik territory remained probably the most affected area within the province on a per capita foundation, with 1,318 energetic circumstances per 100,000 individuals. There have been 64.5 energetic COVID-19 circumstances per 100,000 individuals throughout Quebec.
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