Quebec’s opposition parties want to hear from the director of public health over the province’s handling of the pandemic.
They repeated their call Friday to have Dr. Horacio Arruda appear before a parliamentary committee before the legislature wraps up the current session on Dec. 11.
Premier François Legault and Arruda said this week they were open to an appearance, but no date has been set.
Opposition Liberal Leader Dominique Anglade also called for a public inquiry into the government’s handling of the pandemic.
“Meeting with Dr. Arruda is a first step, but it cannot be the only step. We need an independent inquiry,” she told reporters Friday in Quebec City.
“We are living through probably one of the most important crises in the history of Quebec, we need to make sure that there is a public inquiry to answer all kinds of questions.”
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The province has reported a total of 147,877 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 7,183 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic, with 1,370 more people recovered from their illness as of Friday for a total of 127,549.
The Legault government cited the pressure on a strained health-care network and rising COVID-19 infections on Thursday as a reason for cancelling holiday gatherings over four days at Christmas — a decision the premier described as political.
Parti Québécois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon said that hearing from Arruda directly will allow for a better understanding of decision-making.
“I think it’s essential in that context that we get to speak directly to Dr. Arruda, and it’s just going to raise the level of confidence the population needs to have to get through the next three months,” he said.
A decision on when Arruda will be heard is in the hands of government House Leader Simon Jolin-Barrette, who has not said when the hearing could be held. The parties said there is urgency as the legislature only resumes sitting on Feb. 2.
Meanwhile, Quebec reported 1,345 new COVID-19 cases and 28 additional deaths linked to the novel coronavirus in the latest numbers.
Montreal recorded the most cases with 453, with Capitale-Nationale, including Quebec City, the Eastern Townships,
Lanaudière and Montérégie all reporting more than 100 cases.
The province’s Health Department said 24 more people were hospitalized with the virus for a total of 761, with two fewer cases in intensive care for 97.
A Quebec government-funded health institute reported Friday the number of COVID-19 cases among those 80 and older has been increasing over the past three weeks, with the virus increasingly striking those at a higher risk of hospitalization.
The institute said in its latest weekly projections released today that COVID-19 hospital capacity should be sufficient in Montreal in the coming weeks as well Quebec as a whole, but cautioned the situation remains tenuous in some outlying regions.
It said that overall, the number of new cases in Quebec last week, ending Nov. 29, was up 12 per cent compared to the previous week, with the jump concentrated largely in the greater Montreal area.
The Institut national d’excellence en sante et en services sociaux said the projected increases in hospitalizations are linked to COVID-19 outbreaks in elder care.
Health Minister Christian Dubé said the latest institute forecast during the second wave of the pandemic is a departure from relative stability in recent weeks.
“In recent days we have seen worrying signs of the situation worsening, especially with regard to hospitalizations in certain regions,” Dubé said in a statement.
“The decision we made to no longer allow Christmas gatherings in the red zone reflects our desire to take no risks, in support of our teams in the health and social services network.”
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Dube also issued a decree beefing up staffing for the upcoming COVID-19 immunization campaign by allowing students enrolled in health programs and other health-care professionals to get the necessary training to administer vaccines against influenza or COVID-19.
The health minister said the agreements with professional orders allows the province to add a few thousand people to administer doses.
Also Friday, new rules regarding the maximum number of clients allowed in shops and malls came into effect across the province.