No new cases on the Gaspé
The Public Health Board is reporting no new cases of the coronavirus between March 24 and 25 on the Gaspé Peninsula and the Magdalen Islands. The numbers released on March 24 stand, at four cases on the Gaspé and three in the Magdalen Islands.
Meanwhile, the Public Health Board is releasing new and more accurate numbers regarding the number of analyses carried out. Out of 227 samples sent to those laboratories, 153 were negative, seven were positive and the results of 67 are still unknown.
Clémence Beaulieu-Gendron, Communication officer for the Regional Integrated Health and Social Service Centre (CISSS), mentions that it is not possible to obtain accurate numbers on a daily basis because the laboratories send their results to the Department of Health and Quebec’s Public Health Department, not to regional organizations. “New laboratories are also getting authorization to perform those analyses and the results are calculated for the province only. We are trying to get them when they are available but it is not always the case,” she explains.
Fourth covid-19 case in the Gaspé Peninsula
CARLETON – The Gaspé Peninsula and Magdalen Islands Public Health Board is reporting a fourth person infected with the coronavirus on the Gaspé and the first three cases in the Magdalen Islands. They had all travelled outside the country over the past few weeks. None of the seven people were hospitalized and their symptoms, so far, have been mild. “Everybody feels relatively well, to my knowledge. (…) The situation remains serious, nonetheless,” states Dr. Iv Bonnier-Viger, Regional director of the Public Health Board.
On a daily basis the Regional Public Health Board follows slightly more than 100 people who have been in contact with the seven infected individuals. “It shows (the new increase) that the virus circulates well and that people must respect the instructions, such as hand washing, coughing into the angle of our elbow and visiting people online, except when some citizens must buy food for others that cannot get out. It is not the right time to visit friends or greet friends,” Dr. Bonnier-Viger insists.
So far, approximately 200 analyses of secretions of Gaspesians and Magdalen Islanders have been sent to one of the eight laboratories located in either Montreal or Quebec City. Of those analyses 170 have received negative results, seven were positive and 30 are still awaiting results.
Once more, Dr. Bonnier-Viger refuses to provide geographical information about the those infected in the region. “The territory is wide and the population is small. It is my duty to preserve the confidentiality of the people. The virus is moving around. Everybody is entitled to confidentiality. There is not a single corner in the world that is protected. Giving details about the location of the cases would give an illusion to think that if we know, it will help. It will not.” Dr. Bonnier-Viger points out that if we know the location of one case, in New Carlisle, it is because that person has decided to openly talk about it.
He reminds the public that the number of cases is rising in Quebec. Premier François Legault announced earlier today that there are 1,013 cases of infected people in Quebec, an increment of 385 over the previous day. The number of deaths in the province remains at four.