Home » Health » No documented case of coronavirus in Quebec, says public health [VIDÉO] | News | The sun

No documented case of coronavirus in Quebec, says public health [VIDÉO] | News | The sun

LThe information was provided Thursday by the National Director of Public Health, Horacio Arruda, who was reassuring, taking stock of the situation across Quebec.

A total of four people were under investigation and all of the tests performed turned out to be negative, he said.

And if it were ever discovered that a person had actually contracted the potentially fatal virus, Quebec would not be caught off guard, having already taken all the measures required to prevent the disease from spreading.

Dr Arruda invited the media on Thursday to remind the general public that there is no cause for concern. He asked Quebecers to live their lives normally.

He acknowledged that the series “Epidemic”, currently broadcast on TVA, and films such as “Contagion”, made his task difficult, people sometimes mixing fiction and reality.

“Let’s keep our heads rational,” he said in a press briefing. There are people who are afraid of packages that will arrive from China (…) as if there was anthrax powder inside. We are not there yet. I don’t know if you understand all that it can have perverse effects. ”

The main symptoms of coronavirus are fever, cough and difficulty breathing. People with a previous medical condition, such as heart or lung disease, are more at risk of contracting it.

Dr Arruda urged people not to give in to irrational and unfounded fear as China steps up draconian measures to contain the outbreak and the World Health Organization (WHO) has just declared it emergency state.

“Worry, I can tell you, it is transmitted a lot faster than any germ,” he said. Fear is a very bad counselor, and fear makes you do business that has no good blood, but it’s human. I can’t say that people are crazy, they’re just normal, it’s fear that does that. Fear is an epidemic. ”

Masks can harm

He cites as an example the massive purchase in Quebec of masks, which however can harm health, he says. An uninfected person who wears the mask would only accumulate secretions and eventually become contaminated.

According to him, the masks should be reserved for nursing staff and patients in whom an infection is suspected. Those in the population who are worried can wash their hands several times a day and practice respiratory hygiene, that is, coughing in their elbow, for example, he said.

“If the mask was a significant protective measure, I would recommend it,” insisted the public health expert. Why should I deprive myself of a simple thing that could help? But it can hurt, on the contrary. ”

He also regretted that parents are currently choosing to withdraw their children from schools where there are pupils of Asian origin. “There is no reason,” he said. We ostracize children, we say to the child: “We must be afraid of the Chinese”! ”

“A person of Asian or Chinese origin who would have the cold now, do not think that it is the coronavirus there. This is very important, “he added.

In Quebec, as elsewhere in the world, instructions have been given by government authorities to detect possible problem cases at airports and in hospital emergency rooms.

+

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.