Five people were placed in isolation following the gathering of 300 guests on December 14, in which the mayoress of Montreal, Valérie Plante, participated.
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Emilia Tamko, Director of Public Affairs of the East Montreal Chamber of Commerce (CCEM), which organized the event, told us by email yesterday that the CEO of the Chamber of Commerce was among the people in administrative segregation.
According to our confidential sources very close to the matter, Public Health was still trying to find out yesterday how many people who participated in the rally have COVID-19.
All participants were contacted this weekend by CCEM and were asked to undergo screening, after positive cases were reported among participants.
The mayor herself, who spoke there, had a screening test three days later which came back positive.
It is not excluded that she could have infected other people without knowing it, because the epidemiological investigation is not finished.
However, during a press briefing where she reacted to our revelations published yesterday, Ms. Plante was annoyed by our report, suggesting that she already knew the conclusions of the investigation.
“Public Health would have clearly said that these are two absolutely separate events,” she said. She deplored “an amalgamation” and questioned the quality of our work.
Earlier, his spokesperson, Catherine Cadotte, also told us this: “According to the information we have received from Public Health, these are two separate events. The Chamber of Commerce would have been called upon to communicate with the participants of the event following various positive cases identified, which are not related to the mayoress ”.
Info “never” shared
We asked the Public Health of Montreal if it was their practice to inform a person or an organization about the conclusions of an investigation.
“We never share information on specific cases linked to individuals. Never, ”replied Jean Nicolas Aubé, spokesperson for the CIUSSS du Center-Sud-de-l’Île-de-Montréal. Mr. Aubé is limited to asserting for the moment that “a few positive cases were present at the event” and that these cases “were not linked to each other”.
On December 14, a rally like the one that took place at the Olympic Stadium was still allowed despite the increase in cases. Participants could only remove their masks “momentarily to eat and drink,” according to the government.
The mayoress was seated with about 20 other people at the head table. Quebec imposes a limit of ten people per table in restaurants, but does not provide such details in conferences and seminars held in other places.