LAVAL -- The Minister for Health and Social Services, Lionel Carmant, wanted to reassure the public on Sunday about the health situation in Laval.
Carmant was in the third most populous city in Quebec, and one of the hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, after the city of Montreal.
According to the raw data published on Saturday by the Institut national de la Sante publique du Quebec, the cumulative number of confirmed cases is 4,596 in Laval—behind Montreal (21,410) and Monteregie (5,230)—a rate of 1,038 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, which is even slightly higher than that of the Island of Montreal.
There have also been 448 deaths since the start of the crisis.
But according to Carmant, the outbreak is “controlled, despite the rate of positive tests and death.” In particular, he said that the creation of buffer zones had freed hospitals.
DIRECTOR OF YOUTH PROTECTION
Carmant also discussed his meeting with Sonia Mailloux, the director of youth protection (DYP) of Laval, whom he said had encouraging news.
Carmant recalled that the services of the DYP had been reorganized at the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic, "to tighten the social safety net" around children. The strategy has paid off, he said. According to him, there are no children on the waiting list of the Laval DYP and in the vast majority of the regions of the province.
Carmant, however, overlooked the fact that the number of reports to the DYP has dropped considerably since people have been confined to their homes.
“In addition, Carmant explained that he has made less public appearances lately because he had to self-isolate twice: he lives “in a hot zone of the city of Montreal” where his wife works in a designated centre. More recently, he had to self-isolate after having worked in a long-term care facility.
This article by the Canadian Press was first published May 17, 2020.
