Quebecers, like the rest of the world, are growing accustomed to the uncertainty that’s accompanied the pandemic. But they may not appreciate their government adding to that already hefty burden.
Quebec Premier François Legault spent two days last week outlining an ambitious timeline to reopen elementary schools, daycares and several sectors of the province’s economy by the end of the month.
“Life must go on,” he declared at the time.
Since then, his plan has unravelled somewhat, adding uncertainty to an already uncertain situation.
On Monday, he pushed back the opening of retail stores in the Montreal area. On Thursday, he pushed back those same store openings again and delayed the return to classrooms.
The public health case is simple. While the situation in Quebec’s outlying regions is improving, transmission rates remain high in and around Montreal.
In addition, the city’s hospital beds are nearly all full and there is a severe staffing shortage across the health-care network.
At the moment, Montreal hospitals simply don’t have enough beds or staff to absorb a further surge in COVID-19 cases, which could happen when several hundred thousand people start heading to work and school again.
WATCH | Legault explains the rationale for pushing back the timeline for reopening Montreal:
May 25 is the new target date for opening additional businesses, schools and daycares in the Montreal region, said Quebec Premier François Legault. 1:29
And so instead of opening on Monday, as per the original timeline, retail stores in the Montreal area will open on May 25. Elementary schools will also open May 25, one week later than planned. All this provided the situation on the ground improves.
But Legault’s explanation for adjusting his timeline also illustrates the problem with the notion that there are “two worlds” in Quebec when it comes to understanding the pandemic.
The notion is central to his argument that it is safe to ease confinement measures. It holds that while infections are rampant in long-term care centres, they are low enough outside these self-contained communities to allow people to circulate more freely than before.
This certainly describes an epidemiological reality. But it doesn’t really capture the way different elements of the health-care system are co