STEPHEN RICCIO
PONTIAC Dec. 9, 2020
Municipality of Otter Lake had its first positive case of COVID-19 come to light on Dec. 3, and the Pontiac service area (RLS) is dealing with eight active cases as of Dec. 7, up from five or less (minimum one) last week.
The RLS Pontiac has now had . . .
46 cases since the pandemic began, 30 of which have been in the Municipality of Pontiac (MoP). Within the MRC Pontiac, which comprises the rest of the RLS, the municipalities of Otter Lake, Campbell’s Bay, Fort Coulonge, Mansfield et Pontefract, Shawville and L’Île du Grand Calumet each had five or less cases.
After making the case that Quebecers in red zones could get away with two private gatherings throughout the Christmas holidays, provided they self-isolated a week before and after, Premier François Legault scrapped that idea on Dec. 3, citing the fact that COVID-19 cases continue to increase in the province.
The announcement came after Legault asked people in November to agree to a “moral contract” of self-isolation so that people could gather in groups of up to 10 from Dec. 24 to Dec. 27.
Legault said that slowing the spread substantially by Christmas is not a realistic goal and that people need to understand that the virus is too dangerous to risk the gatherings.
The new ruling affects all residents within the MoP. For residents within the MRC Pontiac, the current allowed gathering limit is six people.
The Outaouais had 278 active cases (3,751 total, 3,387 recovered) as of Dec. 7, which is down 31 from last week. There were 20 hospitalizations, down four from last week, with one person in intensive care.
The region also continues to deal with active outbreaks at 13 health care facilities: Résidence Cité Jardin, Résidence Château de l’Île, Résidence La Gappe, RPA Chartwell Domaine Notre Dame, RPA Chartwell Jardins Notre-Dame, Château Symmes, Manoir Sainte-Marie, CHSLD La Pietà, CHSLD Lionel Émond, CLSC et CHSLD de la Petite-Nation, CHSLD La Renaissance, Hôpital de Hull and Hôpital et CHSLD de Papineau.
