Quebec calls on thousands of public servants to help clean, distribute meals in hospitals
Quebec's treasury board is calling on public servants from all departments to help in hospitals, CTV News has confirmed.
Radio-Canada first reported that an internal letter was sent to government personnel asking them to temporarily become service aids.
Service aids help prepare and distribute meals to patients, they also help with cleaning and other tasks. Quebec's health ministry is looking to hire 2,165 of them.
A treasury spokesperson told CTV News the call for help is in response to rapidly-rising occupancy in Quebec's hospitals due to the highly-infectious Omicron variant.
"(There is) an urgent need for personnel," Florence Plourde told CTV in an email, adding that the aids will be brought in over the coming weeks.
As of Sunday, there were 3,085 people in hospital with COVID-19, 275 of whom were in the ICU.
Quebec Premier Francois Legault was cautiously optimistic about Omicron's effect on the province's hospitals in the coming days.
On Thursday, he said he had been advised by public health that the current wave is likely coming to its peak, and that hospitalizations would soon follow suit.
"We have to remain very careful. The number of hospitalization is still very high, and will maybe continue to increase for the next few days," he said, predicting hospitals may see their highest rates of admission over the weekend.
Officials continued to encourage Quebecers to be vaccinated. Even as Omicron infections spread rapidly among those vaccinated and unvaccinated alike, it still provides good protection against serious infection.
“Vaccination is continuing," said Legault. "It is the key in order to be able to live with the virus."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
Deaths of 4 people on Sask. farm confirmed as murder-suicide
The deaths of four people on a farm near the Saskatchewan village of Neudorf have been confirmed a murder-suicide.
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
Full parole granted to man convicted in notorious 'McDonald's murders' in Cape Breton
The Parole Board of Canada has granted full parole to one of three men convicted in the brutal murders of three McDonald's restaurant workers in Cape Breton more than 30 years ago.
Incident on Calgary's Reconciliation Bridge comes to safe resolution
Nearly 20 hours after a man climbed and remained perched on top of the Reconciliation Bridge in downtown Calgary, the situation came to a peaceful resolution.
Sunshine list: These were the Ontario public sector's highest earners in 2023
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
George Washington family secrets revealed by DNA from unmarked 19th century graves
Genetic analysis has shed light on a long-standing mystery surrounding the fates of U.S. President George Washington's younger brother Samuel and his kin.
'We won't forget': How some Muslims view Poilievre's stance on Israel-Hamas war
A spokesman for a regional Muslim advocacy group says Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's stance on the Israel-Hamas war could complicate his party's relationship with Muslim Canadians.
Why some Christians are angry about Trump's 'God Bless the USA' Bible
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is officially selling a copy of the Bible themed to Lee Greenwood’s famous song, 'God Bless the USA.' But the concept of a Bible covered in the American flag has raised concern among religious circles.