MONTREAL

19 cases of COVID-19 reported in Quebec daycare centres since they reopened last month, families minister says

Published Monday, June 22, 2020 2:08PM EDT Last Updated Wednesday, June 24, 2020 2:52PM EDT

Quebec Family Minister Mathieu Lacombe speaks at a news conference on the COVID-19 pandemic, Monday, April 27, 2020 at the legislature in Quebec City. Lacombe announced the models for the return to daycare centres for children. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jacques Boissinot

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MONTREAL -- There have been 19 cases of COVID-19 reported in daycare centres in Quebec since they reopened last month, Quebec's families minister said Monday.

Mathieu Lacombe, the Quebec minister responsible for families, said he was pleased with that result, given the scale of the COVID-19 pandemic in the province, calling it a "very small" number of cases and noting that thousands of children are being cared for at the province's daycares.

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There have been 87 total cases of COVID-19 reported in the province's daycares throughout the pandemic, Lacombe added.

Daycare centres outside of the Greater Montreal area reopened May 11, while those in the Greater Montreal area reopened June 1. Some daycare centres have remained open throughout the pandemic to care for the children of emergency and essential services workers.

Given those numbers, Lacombe declared himself "confident for the future," as the province continues to try to contain the spread of COVID-19.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 22, 2020.