Face of Public Health then the start of the pandemic, the Dr Horacio Arruda stepped down as his recommendations came under increasing criticism. Back on six controversies that marked the last 22 months of his mandate as national director of public health.
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Wearing a mask
In March 2020, when a first wave of COVID-19 hit Quebec hard, the Dr Horacio Arruda is slow to recommend that the mask be worn in public places. He said at the time that the mask was not the best option to protect against the virus, emphasizing the importance of hand washing instead.
“Masks are for the care system, where there are protocols for putting it on, protocols for removing it,” he said at a press briefing on March 18, 2020, specifying that “wearing a mask, it’s putting your hand often [au visage]To adjust it.
A few weeks later, he argues that wearing the non-surgical mask may be effective. Then, in July 2020, the government, on the recommendation of Public Health, imposed the wearing of a compulsory mask in public places.
In Morocco before the great confinement
On February 28 and 29, 2020, as COVID-19 arrives in Quebec (and cases have already been declared all over the world), Dr Arruda participates in a congress of African pharmacists in Morocco.
He was invited to give lectures on the profession of pharmacist in Quebec and on the legalization of cannabis.
During one of these conferences, he says he learned the day before that a first case of COVID-19 was identified in Quebec. It is about a woman from Montreal who contracted the virus during a trip to Iran.
The “containment dance”
In May 2020, as pandemic-related deaths multiply in Quebec, Dr Horacio Arruda finds himself in a strange controversy. He has been hit with a hail of criticism for having participated in rapper Rod le Stod’s music video, where he is seen doing his “containment dance”.
The Dr Arruda apologizes, with a tight throat and tears in her eyes, during a press briefing.
“If the performance I did, which was intended for a person, hurt or insulted the bereaved families, I offer my sincere apologies,” he said.
A few months later, in November of the same year, the Ministry of Health decided to hire a “communication coach” to help the national director of public health in his media interventions.
Holiday mess
At the beginning of last December, the Omicron variant began to spread in Quebec. As the holidays approach, Dr Arruda is reassuring, especially on the maintenance of gatherings of 20 people that the government of François Legault wishes to authorize.
• Read also: Return of curfew, end of private gatherings and back to school postponed in Quebec
At the same time, Federal Public Health strongly advises against gathering on Christmas and New Years. In Montreal, the regional director of public health, the DD Mylène Drouin, calls on citizens to change their plans for the Holidays.
A few days before Christmas, the government finally backs off, limiting New Years Eve to 10 people maximum. Then, before the start of the year, private gatherings are prohibited and a curfew is imposed. Bars and restaurant dining rooms must also close, as must gyms.
N95 masks, “less effective”?
Last December, the Dr Arruda is still talking about him, this time because of his position on N95 masks, which are used in particular by employees of the health network.
At a press briefing, he said, in English, that the N95 may be “less effective” than a surgical mask if it is not fitted correctly.
Currently, N95 masks are recommended in areas with patients testing positive for COVID-19. Unions representing health workers are calling for them for all staff.
N95 masks filter 95% of particles in the air. The effectiveness of surgical masks would be around 50%, and that of fabric face covers would be 20%.
COVID-19 and child care
Without this being announced in the press briefing on December 30, we learn that Quebec has decided to review the management of COVID-19 cases in daycares and early childhood centers (CPE), in anticipation of the return of Holidays.
This change in approach means that children and staff who have been in contact with a positive case at the daycare will no longer have to isolate themselves. Asymptomatic employees can thus continue to work.
Archive photo
This change is then strongly criticized by parents and the network. In Montreal, Public Health is even putting this directive on hold. A few days later, the government finally announced that it had changed its mind.