To avoid “paralyzing society”, Quebec public health is reducing its isolation requirements. People who have tested positive for COVID-19 will now have to self-isolate for five days, rather than ten.
This new measure, announced Tuesday during a technical briefing, sticks to the recommendations of several Canadian provinces and that of the American Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It aims to keep essential workers infected, but asymptomatic, in the field.
“We might be more careful than less and keep the ten days. But then, we paralyze society, ”said the senior strategic medical advisor of the General Directorate of Public Health of the Ministry of Health and Social Services (MSSS), Marie-France Raynault, who believes that the Quebec “was there”.
According to her, “it’s not just COVID in life”.
“If we don’t have firefighters to put out fires, if we don’t have police officers to ensure security, if we don’t have delivery people, if we don’t have bus drivers … also considerations that are taken into account, ”added the expert.
Quebecers who no longer experience symptoms at the end of their isolation will be able to return to work following five days, and with a mask. If they are still symptomatic, they should respect the period initially set at ten days. The instruction only applies to people who have received two doses of the vaccine.
In addition, only “high risk” contacts will have to follow the isolation rules. Public health is talking here regarding people in a relationship with an individual who has received a positive test or from the same bubble.
Restricted access to PCR
If it loosens the quarantine screw, Quebec tightens its entry criteria in screening centers. Despite the shortage of rapid tests, Quebecers in the general population who experience symptoms of COVID-19 will no longer be able to access PCRs – the classic tests -, unless you meet certain very specific conditions.
Screening center workers will now prioritize healthcare workers who have contact with patients, symptomatic people who work in shelters, group homes, shelters, correctional facilities, as well as those who live or work in First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities.
The rest of the population will be redirected to rapid tests. “In fact, if you’re not in a high-risk environment, you won’t have access to a PCR test,” said Dr.re Raynault, Tuesday. Even though we like PCRs a lot, we had to prioritize. “
Quebec is testing more than ever. In the last two weeks, according to the National Institute of Public Health of Quebec (INSPQ), Quebec has exceeded the 50,000 daily samples eight times. Health authorities had not done it once since March 2020.
However, the reagents necessary for the analysis of the tests are starting to run out, Public Health justified on Tuesday. The anticipated delays were too long, said the Dre Raynault, who hopes to be able to return to normal “in a few weeks”.
In the meantime, the new guidelines should help unclog screening centers in half, she said.
“We find that the tests are very good, but that the vaccination is what will get us out of the current wave. If we have choices to make, we prefer to vaccinate more quickly, ”said the public health adviser.
“Consider yourself infected”
Those looking for quick tests over the holidays might as well have gone looking for an advent calendar on the 1st.is January. But if the stockouts punctuated the beginning of winter, Quebec is planning a late gift to Quebecers: millions of antigen tests are expected to arrive in pharmacies early next week.
For those who still do not manage to get hold of it, the instructions are simple, indicated the Dre Raynault. Symptoms: we isolate ourselves.
“We are well aware that this is a major change. We will need a period of tolerance in the screening centers, ”she observed.
A little more productivity?
After several difficult announcements for the Quebec economy, before and during the Holidays, the sector on Tuesday was delighted with the few reductions that the reduction of the isolation period to five days will bring. According to the Quebec Employers Council (CPQ), the government has listened to employers.
“In the context of a labor shortage, that workers can return to work sooner is good news for the economy,” said Karl Blackburn, President and CEO of the CPQ.
Nearly 240,000 positions were vacant in Quebec at the end of 2021, according to Statistics Canada.
The Benny & Co. roast chicken restaurant chain, which now only produces take-out, delivery or groceries, is particularly looking for hundreds of workers. However, since mid-December, around 15% of the company’s 2,200 employees have had to go into isolation due to COVID-19. Some of the brand’s 71 establishments had to close for a day or two.
“It’s a daily challenge not to close branches and to offer service to our customers who need it. It looks like we are always one or two employees away from being in a critical situation, argued Nicolas Filiatrault, vice-president of finance and administration at Benny & Co. We welcome the five-day quarantine, it will help us to get back on top a little faster. “
With The Canadian Press
