Not all of the measures imposed on Quebecers to curb the pandemic will be lifted at the same time as the state of health emergency. The Legault government wants to put an end to it after the vaccination campaign for children aged 5 to 11, in 2022.
“We will be able to remove most of the instructions, but it is possible that some instructions should be kept,” Prime Minister François Legault admitted in the press scrum Wednesday. But that, we would do that, if that is the case, by bill. “
He indicated that the government needed a state of health emergency to continue using the “I contribute” platform to recruit new employees in the health network or impose the wearing of masks in public places.
” We have to [le] maintain at this time, defended the Minister of Health, Christian Dubé, in the press. I am thinking in particular of the hiring of personnel, I am thinking of the agreements with private clinics, which allow us to work on the resumption of surgeries, telemedicine. We know the elements that are important within emergency measures. “
Neither has advanced on the percentage of children who should be immunized to achieve good immunization coverage. The Prime Minister also did not give details on when the state of health emergency would be lifted. “It will depend on when the vaccine will be approved and when we can start to vaccinate,” he said.
What measures could the government abandon? Everything will depend on public health recommendations and the evolution of the pandemic. “The health emergency does not prevent resuming a normal life, and especially with the vaccination passport”, argued Mr. Dubé.
According to a survey published by the National Institute of Public Health (INSPQ) on Wednesday, 55% of Quebecers expect their activities to resume during the year 2022 as before the pandemic.
Opposition parties believe that the government should not wait until 2022 to lift the state of health emergency.