Parties private are more cases of COVID-19 bars, said Legault [VIDEO]

During his visit to Baie-Comeau on Friday, prime minister François Legault said that the gatherings in private are more harmful than the attendance of the bars in relation to the recent cases of transmission of COVID-19. He was accompanied by the minister responsible for the Côte-Nord, Jonatan Julien.

July 17, 2020 13h39

Updated at 14h53

Parties private are more cases of COVID-19 bars, said Legault [VIDEO]

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BAIE-COMEAU – The threat of closure that hung over the bars in Quebec is lifted, at least for the moment. According to prime minister François Legault, what is not in these places lies the largest risk of transmission of the COVID-19, but in the raising private.

“We did an evaluation with public health on the possibility of closing the bars. After study, we realized that the majority of cases, this was not people who had frequented the bars”, was launched by the prime minister, on a visit to Baie-Comeau on Friday morning to meet with the elected members of the west Coast-North.

“Currently, the department of public health tells us that the main problem is not in the bars, it is in the gatherings in private,” added Mr. Legault, who addressed a special appeal to Quebec in the beginning of the construction holiday.

“It’s fun to be a big gang, but this is not the time to do it. If everyone abides by the 2 meters and wear a mask, there will be no problem, and we will not be obliged to go back, in confinement”, he launched in, ensuring that there will be a lot of inspectors and police officers in public places this weekend and that they will not hesitate to distribute fines, the need.

As he does regularly in his public appearances, the prime minister recalled the safety instructions in these times of pandemic, insisting on the maximum number of people that can gather. “There should not be gatherings of more than 10 persons, whether in a house or a BBQ in the courtyard. You really must respect this maximum.”

The prime minister has also indicated that the daily number of screening tests COVID-19 in Quebec has increased from 8 000 to 15 000. All employees of the health network have been tested, and according to Mr. Legault, on the 141 cases of infection reported this Friday, 97 relate to employees of the health network. “There are people who interpreted the increase in the number of cases to be frequenting bars. This is not the case,” he argued.

Resolved concern

In addition to its discussions with the mayors, prefects and heads innu, François Legault has also met with the leadership of the union of the employees of the factory of newsprint Resolute forest Products, Baie-Comeau, which has been closed since march 28, and still not restarted. Nearly 250 employees have been unemployed since that time.

Without entering in this specific case, which concerned more than one in the Manicouagan, the prime minister has argued that the objective of the update of the forest regime, which will take place by October, is to allow a competitive price for the fiber and better predictability on the volume of the cutting permit.

“We will financially assist companies that have projects, and we will in exchange ask them for guarantees of employment. It will be easier for businesses to invest if there is more predictability”, he said.

Update of Quebec on the COVID-19 : The PM François Legault Baie-Comeau – July 17, 2020

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