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Quebec public health reacted “at the same rhythm as the population” — instead of planning ahead when it was clear as of January 2020 that there was a threat to the population, Patrick Martin-Menard said.
He said the slowness of the response was even harder to explain given that the province had an influenza pandemic plan it could have deployed. “Due to this inaction, because of this confusion, this lack of clarity and leadership, we lost crucial weeks,” Martin-Menard told the inquiry.
Martin-Menard said it was clear the province hadn’t acted quickly, despite what some witnesses claimed, and that Quebecers in long-term care homes had paid the price.
“We let them die alone ? in complete indignity, not because it was an inevitable situation, but because we didn’t adequately prepare.”
© 2022 The Canadian Press
