Lunvaccinated Quebecers will no longer be able to buy alcohol and cannabis. The Minister of Health, Christian Dubé, announces the extension of the vaccine passport to branches of the SAQ (Quebec alcohol company) and SQDC (Canadian cannabis company) from January 18. This first measure aims to become an “additional incentive for some to get their first dose”, explains the Minister of Health.
Other services, businesses deemed non-essential such as “personal care”, are intended to adopt the control of the vaccination pass upon entry. The Ministry of Health is in discussions with the relevant authorities to determine the “feasibility details”. No longer drinking, no longer smoking and soon no longer having their hair cut: the Quebec government does not hide it, all means are good to make the last rebels want to roll up their sleeves.
Airs of disaster
The unvaccinated weigh heavily on the Quebec health network. They occupy 50% of the beds while they represent only 10% of the population. This report illustrates the words of the Prime Minister, François Legault, when the restrictive measures were announced on December 30. “I understand the anger against the unvaccinated,” he said. The situation looks like a disaster. Health workers are deserting hospital services after two years of fighting Covid-19. Public health counts 20,000 absent.
The epidemic peak that hit the Canadian province is unprecedented. There is cause for concern. Public health “is not capable of carrying out the complete analysis of all PCRs”, admits the Minister of Health. The increase in hospitalizations follows its increasing curve, with 400 hospitalizations in the last 24 hours. The forecasts of the Ifs (National Institute of Excellence in Health and Social Services) are shivers down the spine. By mid-January, 3,000 acute hospitalizations and 400 intensive care patients can be expected.
READ ALSOCovid-19: with more than 260,000 new cases, the epidemic is still on the rise
The Minister of Health is reassuring: “It is still too early to see the effects of the measures that we have put in place. The curfew, the closure of so-called non-essential businesses and the postponement of the start of the school year to January 17 are not taken into account in the scenarios considered. Christian Dubé believes that “the forecasts of the Isens will be updated”. He is counting on the dialogue initiated with the unions to “bring back the employees of the health service”. Faced with the hardships imposed by the Omicron variant on the health system, the government of Quebec is turning to limiting access to public space for the unvaccinated.