QUEBEC CITY – The Minister of Seniors and Caregivers, Marguerite Blais, said she learned on March 9, 2020 that people aged 65 and over were at risk of developing serious symptoms of COVID-19.
But according to what emerges from her testimony, she was more or less worried about it, confident that the CHSLDs were “accustomed” to managing outbreaks.
On several occasions before the coroner, Ms. Blais argued that CHSLDs had a culture of infection prevention and control.
“Madam Coroner, CHSLDs are known to manage outbreaks. This is not the first time that there have been outbreaks in CHSLDs, and it will not be the last.
She moved back in time. “I am convinced that we are taking care of it. (…) For me, CHSLDs know how to manage outbreaks,” she said.
Either way, she said, “no one believed it was going to affect living environments like it affected living environments; we believe that it will affect hospitals”.
“That’s the reality,” she adds.
Before beginning her testimony, Ms. Blais made a statement. She expressed her deepest condolences to the families of seniors who died in CHSLDs.
“People are in mourning; so am I,” she said.
She said the deaths of thousands of seniors in CHSLDs in 2020 had not left her “indifferent” and that she considered the coroner’s inquest to be “fundamental” to improving care for seniors.
The 71-year-old minister acknowledged that she had been at the forefront of the crisis, and that she owed the families to “take responsibility” and come and testify at the investigation.
Ms. Blais explained that she was unable to come and testify in November because of her professional exhaustion. “I was too emotional,” she said.
His testimony will continue for several hours on Friday.