CANCEL THANKSGIVING: DUBÉ
Quebec pleads for help stopping virus
Quebec's health minister called on Quebecers Friday to avoid all non-essential gatherings with friends and family for 28 days as authorities reported 637 new cases of COVID-19, the highest single-day total since May.
“It is for a month, this is not permanent,” Christian Dubé told reporters in Quebec City. “We're asking for a month of effort to break the second wave.”
Dr. Horacio Arruda, Quebec's public health director, told Quebecers not to go to parties or to dinners. “If someone invites you for dinner, it's very nice,” Arruda said, “but in the context of COVID-19, it's not the time.”
Authorities reported four new deaths attributed to the novel coronavirus Friday. Hospitalizations increased by 15, for a total of 199, with 33 patients in intensive care, an increase of two.
Dubé said it's important for Quebecers to realize that people's actions can make a difference.
He pleaded with Quebecers to pick up the phone when health officials call. Health Department employees who are trying to reach people who have been in contact with positive COVID-19 cases have lamented over the past couple of weeks that their calls were often not being answered.
“Please answer the call,” Dubé said, adding that caller ID on such calls will now say “Santé Publique.”
Arruda said the province is increasing the number of contact tracers in Montreal and Quebec City. More than 5,000 retired professionals have signed up on the “Je contribute” website to help with testing and contact tracing, as Quebec seeks to free up active health-care professionals.
There were 229 new cases reported in the Montreal area Friday, bringing the total number of cases in that region to 32,292. All 82 municipalities of the Montreal Metropolitan Community have moved into the “orange” alert level, the second highest level in the province's COVID-19 alert system.
The Quebec City region reported 132 new cases, for a total of 3,483.
Meanwhile, the Avignon regional municipality in the Gaspésie region, which borders New Brunswick, was upgraded from green to yellow alert.
Quebec continues to increase COVID-19 testing, with 36,060 tests administered on Wednesday, a new record. The province has reported 70,307 COVID-19 infections and 5,814 deaths attributed to the virus since the beginning of the pandemic.
Arruda said despite his call for Quebecers to limit their social gatherings, bars and restaurants will stay open for now. Bars and restaurants aren't driving the second wave of the contagion, he said.
Dubé added that if the government orders bars to close, that decision may incentivize people to gather indoors in private settings, making contact tracing more difficult.
Dubé said authorities are trying to find a balance that will help contain the virus and allow people to maintain a sense of normalcy.
He also said the situation is under control in public seniors' residences, but he is worried about private facilities, where there is more coming and going among residents and visitors.
$4.9B QUARTERLY DEFICIT
The first quarter of Quebec's fiscal year ended with a $4.9-billion deficit as the pandemic forced expenses up by 11 per cent and sent revenues down 11 per cent.
The figure, published Friday, takes into account a $589-million contribution to the Generations Fund. Last year, the quarter ended with an $824-million surplus.
Business income tax revenues were down 33.7 per cent, while revenues from publicly-owned enterprises dropped 60 per cent.
Quebec plans to end the fiscal year with a $14.9-billion deficit, taking into account $4 billion to deal with the second wave of COVID-19.
$2.3B FOR CITIES, TRANSIT
The provincial and federal governments will “as soon as possible” give $2.3 billion to Quebec's municipalities and public transit agencies to help them deal with the challenges caused by COVID-19.
The money will be split between the two governments, with $1.2 billion going to transit, including $400 million already announced in June. Another $800 million will go to municipalities so they can avoid tax hikes, said Finance Minister Éric Girard.
The remaining $300 million will be a reserve for future use.
DON'T TRAVEL TO HIKE
The government's demand that half the province avoid travel to other regions creates a dilemma for hikers and others who want to admire the fall colours. SEPAQ, which manages provincial parks in Quebec, is asking visitors to “rigorously respect” new sanitary measures and reminding them that inter-regional travel is “not recommended.”