The Public Health press briefing on Wednesday, held jointly with the Minister of Health Christian Dubé, was an appropriate response to the worrying situation that Quebec is currently experiencing.
In particular, citizens were recommended to resume wearing a mask in busy public places, without however making this measure mandatory.
We recalled the importance of practicing good hand hygiene and we asked for the collaboration “of those responsible for public places” to offer disinfectant gel and masks “to their customers”.
The importance of vaccination was emphasized, both against COVID-19 (when an update is needed) and influenza. It should also be noted that Quebec announced, at the same time, the launch of a catchy advertising campaign on this subject.
The answer is appropriate, therefore, but it could have been offered… last week!
Faced with the urgency of the situation, the College of Physicians made a public outing on Sunday to recommend wearing a mask in public places.
And the day before, a pediatrician from Sainte-Justine, Guylaine Larose, had called for the intervention of the health authorities. “But where is Public Health to advise the population on prevention? “, she wrote on Twitter.
Far be it from us to encourage public health officials to summon the press daily. We are no longer there. But more responsiveness would not be a luxury, under the circumstances.
It has been some time since we have noticed that we are the target of a “spicy cocktail of viruses”, as the national director of public health, Luc Boileau, described it on Wednesday.
A certain time, too, that health professionals have to hold the system at arm’s length even more than usual.
A while, in short, that we know a perfect storm is brewing.
Regarding the lack of responsiveness on the part of Public Health, we made the same observation last June.
At the time, COVID-19 cases were on the rise, as were hospitalizations, and we invited the Dr Boileau to raise his voice in prevention.
But back to the current situation, because we discussed it with the DD Cécile Tremblay, who published an essay in April with an evocative title: Ready for a next pandemic?
“It is surprising that Public Health has not been more present in the media, she confirmed. We have not integrated what we learned in the first years of the pandemic. »
She noted, however, that the problem is not just that of public health officials.
Applying hygiene and respiratory etiquette measures when the epidemiological situation deteriorates is everyone’s responsibility.
“Like the idea of wearing a mask or staying home when you have symptoms… It hasn’t become a reflex. Except for the most vulnerable,” said the expert.
It’s true. And a culture change is needed.
It was often said at the start of the pandemic: in several countries, especially in Asia, wearing a mask when you are sick to prevent the spread of viruses is common. This is still far from being the case here.
But if we really want to create the habit and see social norms adapt in terms of respiratory etiquette, it would be to our advantage to multiply advertising campaigns to change mentalities.
As we have been able to do successfully in public health over the past decades on several other issues, from wearing seat belts to the fight against smoking, for example.
And as we are going to (re) do it over the next few weeks for vaccination.
We know how fragile our network is. We also know that the crux of the problem, the low hospital capacity of the system, will not be resolved overnight.
Nor would more creativity be a luxury, under the circumstances.