Quebec is gearing up for a potential second wave of the novel coronavirus with a series of measures, including more oversight for the province’s embattled long-term care homes.
The province — which has been hit hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic — is specifically preparing its health network over the next six weeks for a possible resurgence in cases with a nine-point action plan.
“Can we do better? The answer is yes,” said Health Minister Christian Dubé, adding that the government has learned from the first wave.
Dubé, Seniors Minister Marguerite Blais and Lionel Carmant, junior health minister, outlined the details Tuesday morning in Quebec City. They were joined by Dr. Horacio Arruda, director of Quebec public health.
The action plan focuses on more supervision in long-term care homes by appointing a manager to each one, hiring more staff to work in those facilities and allowing caregivers safe access. Quebec will also limit transferring orderlies from one centre to another to prevent the transmission of the virus.
The new managers, who will each be assisted by an infection-control specialist, will be responsible for ensuring government directives are followed. “I don’t want any more excuses that it’s not clear,” Dubé said.
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He promised that managers who do not follow directions would face consequences, although he did not say what they would be.
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The health crisis has shed light on the challenges facing nursing homes in Quebec, where the majority of COVID-19 deaths have occurred, and has sparked investigations into their management. The province is already training 10,000 new orderlies to work in understaffed facilities.
“We have identified clearly that most of our managers did not have the resources to fight this virus properly in the first wave,” Dubé said, adding that the existing managers of long-term care homes were not responsible for the failures of the first wave.
As part of the preparations, the government is looking at reducing delays for screening and ensuring there is enough personal protective equipment for the health network.
In the event of a second wave, the plan also focuses on maintaining other medical services, such as surgery, and improving communication with the public.
The measures will be in place by Sept. 30, giving the province about six weeks to ready the health network for a spike in infections, according to Dubé. The government is providing $106 million for public health, which will allow regional health authorities to hire up to 1,000 workers to help with contact tracing and infection control.
“Together we went through the first wave and it is together we will beat this virus,” Dubé said.
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Quebec continues to lead the country when it comes to the death toll and infections related to the ongoing crisis. Since the pandemic began, there have been 61,252 cases and 5,727 deaths in the province.
The number of new daily cases has dropped over the past few days, with a total of 46 new cases reported Tuesday.
Six additional deaths were reported Tuesday, but authorities said only two of them occurred in the past 24 hours.
The number of hospitalizations remained unchanged at 145 while the number of people in intensive care increased by two to 27.
— with files from Global News’ Raquel Fletcher and the Canadian Press
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