QUEBEC CITY -- The Parti Quebecois (PQ) is calling on the Quebec government to publish daily data on its site on the number of hospitalizations attributable to COVID-19.
Iles-de-la-Madeleine MNA and PQ health critic Joel Arseneau said the data should be published by region and, above all, by hospital centre because these are significant indicators of how the situation is evolving.
He said that right now, to find out the number of hospitalizations by region and by establishment, one must visit the various integrated health centres' sites, which Arseneau said is a long and laborious task.
The PQ believes that its suggestion will strengthen the bond of trust and encourage public support for health measures.
Arseneau said that the Quebec government keeps saying that the number of hospitalizations related to COVID-19 is on the rise and that hospitals risk overflowing in the short term, but that on the government site, it is impossible to find data broken down by region or by hospital centre, nor those concerning hospitals' capacities, whether in intensive care or not.
Arseneau believes that easy access to this data would allow citizens to identify establishments to avoid, but also to make them better aware of the evolution of the situation in the different regions.
He points out, for example, that a high number of hospitalizations linked to COVID-19 in a hospital close to home may encourage more vigilance.
-- this report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 14, 2021.
