Contract 400119680 ESTABLISHED • MAY 1975 VOLUME 46 / NO 12, MARCH 25, 2020 $1.50 (Tax included) COVID-19: Gaspé hospitals say they are ready screened in our premises,” hospital will be followed Nelson Sergerie said Ms. Méthot. closely. "They will be at The time delays for re- home with the treatment they GASPÉ - The CISSS de la ceiving the results of these need to recover properly," Gaspésie is taking the neces- tests will also be reduced. says Dr. Bonnier Viger. sary measures in preparation Currently, the average is four for patients with coronavirus. days, but Quebec has opened Back in service Sixty-four additional beds are clinics across the province. ready in hospitals in the The samples from the Gaspé In addition, 12 retired Gaspé to cope with covid-19. will be processed in Ri- nurses have returned to serv- Currently there are 25 beds mouski to speed up the pro- ice and 16 other people have available in Maria, 16 in cessing. indicated their interest in re- Gaspé, and 13 in Chandler turning. while in Sainte-Anne-des- Necessary material “There is really great soli- Monts there are 10. darity. People who are retired All elective surgeries, that Health authorities assure are calling us. We even re- is non-emergency surgeries, that all the equipment neces- ceived names of teachers have been cancelled until fur- sary to deal with the crisis since the schools are stopped ther notice, and breast cancer will be made available. For to give their availability,” clinics have suffered the same example, the network has 42 says the President and CEO, fate. No appointments will be respirators: 11 are available in Chantal Duguay. made. Maria and Chandler and 10 While people returning "There is work being done are in Gaspé and Sainte- from trips and seniors are not with all the staff to assess the Dr. Yv Bonnier Viger, Director of Public Health Anne-des-Monts. Orders respecting all of Quebec's in- patients currently hospital- have been placed to increase structions, Dr. Bonnier Viger ized. Can we do anything but Photo: N. Sergerie the number. reminds people to take the keep them in hospital, in par- telephone services are being Viger, is still expecting cases The CISSS estimates that up disease seriously. ticular to protect them and at strengthened. in the region. to 15% of all people who will "It is only on this condi- the same time allow people On March 20 as Spec was Four screening clinics be affected by the disease will tion that we will succeed in with covid-19 to be hospital- going to press, no cases had were active in hospitals, but need to be hospitalized. Ex- winning this battle. Most peo- ized?" says assistant director been listed in the Gaspé re- they have been relocated. treme cases could be treated ple understand this well. The Johanne Méthot. gion, but the Director of Pub- "We have trailers outside. in Quebec or Montreal. prevention messages must be Homecare, front-line and lic Health, Dr. Yv Bonnier People will no longer be Those who are not in the repeated. " CORONAVIRUS: Breakdown of the facilities and services available to Gaspesians Gilles Gagné pitals. Mobile units will be in- tated five days before the is- Gaspé Peninsula and Mag- So far, 80 samples of bod- stalled on hospital grounds, suance of a result, positive or dalen Islands. As of March 19, ily substance from Gaspesians Number of beds earmarked for that procedure. Until then, negative. The rising number at 2:30 p.m., 81 samples were and Magdalen Islanders have for coronavirus patients in the samples will be taken from ve- of laboratories able to make sent to the eight laboratories been sent for an analysis to Maria, Chandler, Gaspé and hicles in Chandler and Gaspé, those analysis in Quebec has of the province and the results one of the Quebec City and Sainte-Anne-des-Monts hos- and inside the hospital in a since reduced that waiting of 43 tests were available, all Montreal laboratories; 71 tests pitals: 64 for the region. designated area for the people time to four days. negative. The results of 38 have been negative and nine Number of intensive care going to Maria and Sainte- There is no laboratory lo- tests were still unknown as of test results are unknown, as of beds earmarked for coron- Anne-des-Monts. cated east of Quebec City au- March 19. March 20 at 2 p.m. avirus patients: 16 in the re- According to Dr. Iv Bon- thorized to carry out such gion (usually four per nier Viger, director of the analysis, despite a regular re- Important information for hospital). Gaspé Peninsula Public quest to that effect expressed Number of respirators per Health Board, between 10 and by the interim leader of the clients of The Gaspé Spec hospital as of March 19: (total 15% of the people contracting Parti Québécois, Pascal for the region: 42) Maria: 11; the coronavirus will have to be Bérubé. Doctor Bonnier-Viger Although the office is currently closed, staff is working Chandler: 11; Gaspé: 10; hospitalized. They will not be has heard that such a labora- from home in order to continue to provide you with im- Sainte-Anne-des-Monts: 10 systematically sent to the in- tory could be set up in Ri- portant information. Effective Friday, March tensive care unit. Their state mouski but there was no time 20, those needing to produce a will determine the place where frame or confirmation avail- - Daily updates and links regarding COVID-19 can be sample for analysis for the they will be treated. able as of March 19. found on our website at thegaspespec.com covid-19 will have to do so Up until March 18, a sam- Quebec’s Department of without entering any of the ple taken from a Gaspesian Health has released the num- - Staff can be reached at [email protected] or by Maria, Chandler, Gaspé and and sent to a Quebec City or ber of coronavirus detection inboxing The Gaspé Spec on facebook Sainte-Anne-des-Monts hos- Montreal laboratory necessi- tests carried out so far in the How are Gaspesian businesses reacting to the coronavirus? This is how the Gaspésie Railway Society is coping Gilles Gagné operations, if it is required,” explains the Gaspésie Rail- NEW RICHMOND – The way Society director general, coronavirus is forcing busi- Luc Lévesque. nesses to change the way they The employees who were operate and this holds true for following courses have the companies based on the adopted distance training Gaspé Peninsula. The exam- methods, with computers and ple of the Gaspésie Railway software enabling them to do Society illustrates the meas- so. The employees who were ures recommended by the supposed to leave for vacation Public Health Board of the re- had to cancel them, “includ- gion. ing mine,” points out Mr. “The management staff is Lévesque. working from home, except A list of qualified employ- for the accounting clerk, who ees able to fill in for col- Photo: G. Gagné is alone at the office. We have leagues who could become reduced the number of em- sick was also prepared. ployees per unit of equip- “So far, only one em- ment. For example, we have ployee has pulled out of work only one employee on our for preventive reasons but it is The Gaspésie Railway Society has implemented a set of measures to insure the health of its snowplow units instead of because of influenza,” adds staff. two. We have also adopted a Mr. Lévesque. ees on its payroll. Its activities Listuguj blockade, between not hampered the traffic of the contingency plan for an even- The Gaspésie Railway So- were slowed down and then February 10 and March 5. Gaspésie Railway Society so tual occurrence of minimal ciety has 34 regular employ- paralyzed during the 25-day The coronavirus crisis has far, mentions Luc Lévesque. “Respect the quarantine!” RéGIM commuter services maintained over says the mayor of Gaspé main lines, adapted transport greatly reduced Gilles Gagné Nelson Sergerie CARLETON – The Régie intermunicipale de transport de la Gaspésie et des Îles-de-la-Madeleine GASPÉ - The mayor of Gaspé, Daniel Côté, is criticizing the (RéGIM) is maintaining its commuter services but is applying some restrictions in order to limit the fact that people returning from travel are not respecting quaran- propagation of the covid-19 virus. tine instructions. The other regular routes are being maintained, however, the RéGIM management is asking its In a message to his citizens posted on social networks on riders to use its services only for essential reasons, such as grocery shopping, going to work or to March 17, related to the coronavirus, the mayor was clear, "If travel for health services. you came back from a trip on March 12 or after the 12, you Users of the service should wash their hands, avoid touching their faces, cough or sneeze into should be in quarantine for 14 days. So, you stay at home and their arm, and stay home if they have cold or flu symptoms. The administrative offices of the have someone else do your shopping for you and deliver it to RéGIM in Carleton, Bonaventure, and Sainte-Anne-des-Monts are now closed to the public. Cus- your front porch. You don't go to shops or in public. It’s as clear tomer service is maintained and easy to reach by calling 1 877-521-0841, extension 0. as that." The adapted transport service for handicapped people has been reduced by 95% in the Bay of The elected official insisted that people could be carrying the Chaleur, Haute-Gaspésie and Estran (Grande-Vallée, to Cloridorme) areas, as a result of the meas- virus without knowing it.