[ad_1]
Article content
Quebec Health Minister Christian Dubé called on federal authorities Tuesday to step up efforts to screen tourists returning to the province from Mexico and other sun destinations for COVID-19 after he said he was shocked by news reports of Quebecers flouting public-health guidelines while partying abroad.
At the same time, Dubé acknowledged that the situation in the province is now critical as COVID-19 hospitalizations rose to 1,131, and the number of confirmed cases set another record, 2,381.
“The situation is very worrying,” Dubé told reporters at a news conference. “We’re not going in the right direction. The only way to not to hit a wall in January is to follow public health guidelines.”
Despite the surge in cases and hospitalizations, the minister ruled out additional measures for now, noting that non-essential stores closed for two weeks only on Dec. 25.
Dubé attempted to shift part of the responsibility for the handling of the pandemic to the federal government, expressing frustration and impatience with a lack of agreement with Ottawa on how to deal with the estimated 3,000 Quebec tourists returning to the province in the coming days.
[ad_2]
Source link
