"No choice" but to allow Covid +ve workers to continue work in Quebec, says Christian Dube

|HT|

Quebec, the second most populous Canadian province, has "no choice" but to allow some essential workers to continue working even after testing positive for Covid-19 to prevent staff shortages from impeding its healthcare services, Health Minister Christian Dube said Tuesday.

Quebec, which has been setting daily records since the Omicron variant started a new wave of rapidly rising infections, recorded 12,833 new cases on Monday - the highest one-day count of any region in Canada during the pandemic.

"Omicron's contagion is so exponential, that a huge number of personnel have to be withdrawn - and that poses a risk to the network capacity to treat Quebecers," Dube told reporters at a briefing.

"We made the decision that under a certain condition positive staff will be able to continue working according to a list of priority and risk management," he said, adding that more information would be provided in the coming days.

Dube said Quebec would also offer a third dose of a Covid-19 vaccine to everyone above the age of 18 from Jan. 4.

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