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Regional update: Two more casualties and four new cases of COVID-19
CARLETON: – Two more Gaspesians died of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, which brings the total in the region to six. As was the case for three of the previous four casualties, the victims were residents of the Manoir du Havre in Maria, a private home for seniors.
The sixth casualty was also linked to the Manoir du Havre despite the fact that the victim died in Chandler. The woman had been in contact with someone who was infected, in connection with the Manoir du Havre outbreak.
The two new victims were people “more than 70 years of age and suffering from chronic diseases,” points out Dr. Yv Bonnier-Viger, director of the Public Health Board.
One of the four new cases reported by the Public Health Board is also related to the Manoir du Havre outbreak. Of the 103 cases of COVID-19 in the Gaspé Peninsula and Magdalen Islands, 64 are part of the Manoir du Havre outbreak. 60% of that facility’s 30 residents have been infected with the coronavirus.
The possibility that the region is dealing with its first case or cases of community transmission is becoming more likely every day, adds Dr. Bonnier-Viger. “We still have one, or two, or three cases… or let’s say, a few infection cases, whose source is still unidentified, transmission-wise.”
Currently Dr. Bonnier-Viger is not aware of the details of the three other cases reported in today’s numbers and consequently can’t link them to other small outbreaks in the region.
Meanwhile, the reopening of certain services and industries including mining, landscaping, garages and residential construction has Dr. Bonnier-Viger issuing warnings about new risks of outbreaks if certain precautions are not applied.
“People experiencing symptoms (fever, respiratory problems, lack of smell) should stay home, it is very important,” he emphasizes. He adds that “keeping two metres between human beings, two full arm lengths, and washing hands,” will remain the most important measures. “If people don’t do that, we are at risk of triggering other pandemic waves and waiting even longer for the resumption of other activities.” Dr. Bonnier-Viger, isn’t ruling out the application of social distancing until a vaccine is found, which could take between 12 and 18 months.
Chantal Duguay, director general of the Regional Integrated Health and Social Services Centre (CISSS), points out that her call to recruit support staff for seniors’ residences in the region was heard by a lot of people. However, “there are still many positions to fill, such as nurses, auxiliary nurses and care givers,” stresses Ms. Duguay. She intends to present an update of her recruitment drive on Friday.
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Regional update: Healthcare workers desperately needed
CARLETON: – The Gaspé Peninsula and Magdalen Islands Public Health Board is reporting two new cases of COVID-19, for a regional total of 99.
The call to recruit more healthcare workers made by Chantal Duguay, the director general of the Integrated Health and Social Services Centre (CISSS), was the focus of the day. In the region 350 to 400 people are needed. This represents about 12% of the total regional staff.
Four days after expressing an urgent need for personnel, Ms. Duguay reiterated her “heartfelt call,” to recruit people that can come and help an overwhelmed staff, particularly in the Bay of Chaleur area, where the Saint Joseph Residence, a publicly run seniors’ home needs personnel.
Chantal Duguay’s initial call on Good Friday was heard, “because 100 students communicated their availability, but it is not enough,” she says. She stresses that the “region’s health network was already experiencing a staffing shortage before the pandemic. (…) So, add COVID and the proportion of employees on leave…,” she says without finishing the sentence. Her message is directed at those who have worked in the health sector but also to people who can help “according to their capacity.”
Chantal Duguay points out that the Manoir du Havre was part of the 41 “more critical residences,” identified earlier today by Quebec Premier François Legault as places presenting potential or real problems. Of the region’s 99 COVID-19 cases, 63 are connected to the Manoir du Havre outbreak. The four casualties in the region are also attributable to that same outbreak.
“We intervened and now, it is a residence under control,” says Ms. Duguay. She adds that upon the occurrence of that outbreak, at the end of March, staff from the CISSS took over much of the care and management aspects of Manoir du Havre.
Meanwhile, Dr. Yv Bonnier-Viger, director of the Gaspé Peninsula and Magdalen Islands Public Health Board, says that “there is a possibility that one or two cases,” recently included in the regional total could be the region’s first community transmission cases.
“The origin has not yet been found,” he says, specifying that this or these cases are tied to the Saint Joseph Residence and that the investigation is ongoing. That low number would correspond to the definition of a “sporadic community transmission,” if it is proven, he says.
There are six cases in the region that are connected to Saint Joseph Residence. So far there are no hospitalizations as a result of that outbreak.
Eleven people in the region have been hospitalized, and three people are still being cared for at a Quebec City hospital. There are no new casualties or hospitalizations.