MONTREAL -- The death toll among Quebec seniors could be considerably higher than official statistics show, according to a La Presse investigation.
According to the report, Premier Francois Legault has underreported the number of deaths in Quebec's long-term care facilities on several occassions. During his daily media briefing on April 11, the premier announced deaths at six CHSLDs, including five at the Alfred Desrochers Pavilion. Jeff Begley, spokesperson for the FSSS-CSN, said that number wasn't accurate.
“The president of the union noticed, the day before he had gotten nine from the local employer while the premier is saying five,” he said.
Begley said the discrepancy could be due to delays in facilities reporting deaths.
“There's a delay of a couple of days before it's reflected in the total portrait,” he said.
The La Presse report also cited differning numbers at the facility in the Laval neighbourhood of Ste-Dorothee that is home to one of the most infamous COVID-19 outbreaks in the province. At one point, the provincial death toll was 66, while workers on the ground said it was 77.
Begley noted that 48-hour turnaround times for autopsy results could also play a role in the differing numbers.
“There's number of deaths where we have to verify if they're related to COVID. I presume that's putting a certain strain on the people able to do autopsies,” he said.
Quebec public health director Horacio Arruda and Legault both defended Quebec's mortality rate. Arruda said the province is tracking deaths more scrupulously than any other jurisdiction in the world while Legault said Quebec's death-per-million ratio is better than many Western European countries.
