A month after having mentioned it, the Legault government put a digital platform online on Tuesday allowing Quebecers to “self-declare” their infection with COVID-19. Given the current limits imposed on screening, the site will make it possible to “better assess the evolution of the epidemiological situation in the community”.
Posted at 1:59 p.m.
The idea of such a web platform was first raised at the end of December, during a technical briefing by the Ministry of Health and Social Services (MSSS). At this time, the DD Marie-France Raynault, strategic medical adviser to the ministry, had raised that the government was evaluating in particular “the reporting biases” that such an exercise could lead to.
The form, which was made public on Tuesday without fanfare, allows you to record your positive or negative rapid test result, with your name, date of birth and health insurance number, in particular.
Interested persons are told that “you must complete the declaration form, for each rapid test carried out, whether the result is positive or negative”. Invalid results, they “must not be declared”, specifies Quebec.
“In a context where tests in screening centers are now reserved for certain priority groups and where the number of known cases is therefore underestimated, declaring a rapid test result will help to better assess the evolution of the epidemiological situation in the community”, indicates the MSSS, adding that it will also make it possible to “monitor the use of rapid tests and their results in the different regions”. In addition, the declaration of the result of a rapid test will be “only used for statistical purposes of monitoring the use of these tests”, it is assured.
In other words, the test results “will not be entered in your proof of vaccination”. They will therefore not modify “the protection status of your vaccine passport”. “If you report a positive result, your vaccination status will not be changed,” insists the government.
A new reality
Since the beginning of January, Quebec has given up testing the general population using PCR tests, in the face of fears of a shortage. These tests are now reserved for nursing staff and at risk. Since that date, the number of daily cases of COVID-19 no longer reflects the extent of the spread of the disease in the province.
This Sunday, Public Health carried out 22,818 screening tests, a relatively stable figure compared to the weekly average.
Remember that Quebec is not the only province to have limited access to PCR tests. This is also the case in Ontario, where this type of test is reserved for workers working in an environment deemed “at risk”, as well as for certain people who are also at greater risk of contracting the virus.