The province of Quebec is implementing a gradual end to its lock down. This will include the reopening of stores with outside doors on May 4, 2020, along with manufacturing and construction. The province will also be reopening daycares and elementary schools on May 11, 2020.
Predictably this has alarmed many people, because with approximately 26,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 1,700 deaths, Quebec was Canada’s hardest hit province.
But there was a very clear reason for this decision as Quebec Premier François Legault started off his news conference announcing the reopening with a chart showing the number of deaths from COVID-19 in nursing homes compared to those outside nursing homes:
According to the article on CBC reporting the decision:
“Legault repeatedly said there are ‘two worlds’ in Quebec. While the situation in long-term care homes remains critical, he says, it is stable elsewhere in the province.”
READ: Why Legault feels it’s safe to reopen economy, even though Quebec hit hardest by COVID-19
Study after study has shown, the elderly and those with underlying health issues are the by far the ones most vulnerable to COVID-19. Perhaps, the biggest political mistake made during this coronavirus outbreak was enforcing lockdowns of whole jurisdictions, instead of concentrating all that money and resources protecting the ones most vulnerable — the elderly and those with underlying health issues.
