COVID-19 pandemic, scenes like this did not exist inside Quebec’s long-term care homes.A year ago, Idola St-Jean was in the throes of a major COVID-19 outbreak, with dozens of workers and residents infected.
Most activities were cancelled, and the Billy Joel singer — who normally is a recreation co-ordinator — was reassigned to a job in infection control.
Quebec adds 24 new COVID-19 deaths as hospitalizations dip Now, life in the long-term care home north of Montreal is slowly returning to normal, despite the continued presence of COVID-19.Dr.
Olivier Haeck, who is in charge of infection control for the Laval health authority, says the combination of high vaccination rates among long-term care residents and the prevalence of a less severe strain of the novel coronavirus has made easing restrictions possible.In a recent interview, he said the mortality rate in the fifth wave appears to be about 10 times less than in the first.“(In earlier waves) there was no question of easing restrictions; it was clear,” Haeck said.“Now, we saw people weren’t so sick — they had maybe a small cold, maybe no symptoms at all.”Véronique Boulanger, a nurse and infection control specialist, adds that Idola St-Jean has had two deaths in the fifth wave of COVID-19 out of 62 patients.