Quebec thought COVID-19 threatened hospitals, not long-term care homes, seniors minister says

As the threat of COVID-19 loomed before the pandemic, the Quebec government's focus was on protecting hospitals, and it was oblivious to the damage the virus could inflict in long-term care settings, according to the provincial minister responsible for seniors.

Marguerite Blais is appearing at the inquiry into deaths in long-term care homes, delivering her much-awaited testimony as a coroner tries to get to the bottom of what led to thousands of deaths during the pandemic's first wave.

Blais was originally supposed to appear last fall, but her testimony was delayed because she was on sick leave.

Danielle McCann, Quebec's minister for higher education who was the province's health minister at the start of the pandemic, testified in Blais's place.

On Friday, Blais provided a timeline of key events leading up to the pandemic.

At one point, the coroner, Géhane Kamel, jumped in to highlight a letter the province's Health Ministry sent on Jan. 28, 2020, in which it asks the heads of regional health boards to get begin preparing for the virus.

The letter made no specific mention of CHSLDs, the French acronym for long-term care homes.

Kamel asked Blais if the directive put the focus on hospitals, and not enough on CHSLDs.

"On Jan. 28, we don't know that [the virus] could affect elderly people," the minister responded, adding that it's only on March 9 she became aware of the danger the virus posed to seniors thanks to information from the World Health Organization.

Blais later said: "There was no one that believed that it was going to affect living environments [like long-term care and seniors' homes]. We thought it was going to affect hospitals."

Believing that the minister was not directly answering her question, Kamel repeatedly asked Blais if the government only began putting the focus on long-term care facilities as of March 9.

"We didn't prepare CHSLDs like we prepared hospitals," the minister eventually answered, adding that staffing issues and the lack of protective equipment in long-term care facilities exacerbated the danger.

"So my read [on the situation], is that the blind spot with CHSLDs, didn't start with the pandemic," Blais said.

However, the minister was then shown an internal note sent by Quebec Public Health, dated Feb. 7, 2020, which explained that the coronavirus put seniors at risk.