Quebec allows some infected health workers to stay on the job as COVID-related absences rise

Quebec's health minister announced on Tuesday that some health-care workers in the province who have tested positive for COVID-19 or come in close contact with a confirmed case may remain on the job to protect hospital capacity.

The province plans on extending the mandate to all essential workers in the coming days and weeks. Health Minister Christian Dubé said the decision was made as a form of "risk management" as the health-care system experiences thousands of COVID-related absences.

Dubé said the government has been in talks with unions for several days about the change in policy. He said they came to the conclusion it was the only way to prevent "permanent damage" for people who need health care and that decisions will be made on a case-by-case basis. 

"The reality is that we have more and more sick people and fewer and fewer nursing staff," he said. "This is what we have to do if we want our society to continue to safely function." 

The minister said there were about 7,000 health-care workers off the job on Monday due to COVID-19, and that number is expected to rise to 10,000 in the coming days. Those temporary absences are in addition to the thousands of nurses who left the public system during the pandemic because of the toll it was taking.

"If we have the choice, we wouldn't do it, but our situation is urgent and critical in the short term," Dubé said. "This is the best alternative to not providing care."

The province's public health director, Dr. Horacio Arruda, who accompanied Dubé at the news conference, said the Health Ministry has devised an "order of priority" to guide managers in deciding who can stay at work and who should isolate. 

As an example, Arruda said a worker with few or no symptoms could be assigned to an area where there are patients who are also COVID-positive. Another example would be a worker whose family member has tested positive but who has not yet received a positive result themselves.

"If someone's not in good shape, we won't send them to work," he said.

It is not yet clear how this order or priorities will affect workers in long-term care homes.

The health minister also announced that Quebec will be widening the scope of its vaccine booster campaign. As of Jan. 4, Quebecers aged 55 to 59 can book online appointments. Appointments will open to a new age group every few days until Jan. 21.

The goal is to vaccinate between two million and three million people every month and have administered boosters to every eligible Quebecer who wants one by March.

Health officials are also considering shortening the isolation period for those who test positive, following a decision by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to shorten quarantine from 10 days to five across industries, in the face of a serious labour shortage.

Dubé urged Quebecers who are not vaccinated to get their shots, noting that the majority of patients in intensive care are unvaccinated. He said that out of 12,833 new cases in the province in the past 24 hours, about 8,000 are not vaccinated.