Premier François Legault did not take his scheduled day off today, and instead addressed the province to discuss the troubling news that surfaced yesterday with regards to the living conditions of the CHLSD Herron seniors residence in Dorval.
Legault referred to the conditions discovered at the residence as “appalling,” and assured that there will be both public health and police investigations into the Herron Dorval, as well as other residences under the same ownership.
As of now, there are 31 deaths that have been reported in the Dorval residence, with 5 confirmed to have been caused by COVID-19; more updates on these numbers are expected to come over the next few days.
Legault addressed Quebecers and said that in many cases, the way we treat our seniors is not acceptable, and that they must always be cared for with dignity. As COVID-19 starts to become better controlled, he said that he will insure that the living conditions for seniors as well as working conditions for employees of seniors residences in our province will change for the better.
Also during his press conference, Premier Legault addressed the concerns of parents and caretakers with regards to his comments made yesterday about a potential return for students to schools and daycares by May 4th of this year.
He said that nothing is confirmed, and that the return to any schooling or daycare facility will never happen without the consent of public health officials. Legault stated that the constant priority of his government is the health and safety of all Quebecers; the economy does not come first.
In his numbers recap, Legault stated that across the province, we have now reached 12,292 confirmed cases of COVID-19.