Hanes: From going


Instead of conceding to street protesters at this volatile moment, François Legault should have pointed out that vaccination is what has gotten us to this point of being able to reopen.

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A week ago, Premier François Legault introduced going “mollo” to Quebecers’ pandemic lexicon.

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He used the word, which roughly translates as “taking it easy,” to describe the next phase of Quebec’s deconfinement, which he said would be a gradual process, undertaken in consultation with public health officials, while keeping tabs on hospitalizations.

This week, “mollo” has quickly given way to “learning to live with the virus.” Legault laid out a schedule for the loosening of public health restrictions, starting with a total lifting of limits on gatherings in private homes in time for Super Bowl Sunday, and ending with an almost complete easing of most measures by March 14 (two years plus a day from when he locked down the province in the first wave).

Public health only recommends getting together in groups of 10 people or three households, but whatever. People can now “manage their own risk” (another new turn of phrase).

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Legault denied that a noisy protest outside the National Assembly last weekend (not to mention the occupation of downtown Ottawa by truckers that has lasted more than a week) had anything to do with the shift. However, he said that if the demonstrators want to claim credit for the relaxation of measures and not return to Quebec City in two weeks as promised, he’s OK with that.

That was a stupid thing to say, even for a populist who likes to show he’s a man of the people.

What Legault should have said was that if Quebec is ready to turn a page and enter a new chapter of the pandemic, it’s because mass vaccination is extremely effective and that public health measures, including masks and vaccine passports, have been doing their job to help protect Quebecers.

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His wink to opponents of these tools risks emboldening increasingly undaunted mobs to try to get their way by blocking streets, blaring horns and making their fellow citizens miserable. His comments on him may even undermine efforts to get people to roll up their sleeves or cooperate with continuing measures.

It’s also dangerous to even toy with conceding to street protesters at this volatile moment. Opposition to vaccine mandates for truckers has morphed into a siege with demonstrators demanding the ouster of the federal government, which was democratically elected by Canadians less than six months ago. The idea of ​​installing a “coalition” made up of opposition parties, the Governor General and their own unelected representatives in its place is not only ridiculous, it’s seditious.

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Legault may want to give the made-in-Quebec trucker convoy reason to stay home later this month, but he shouldn’t give any legitimacy whatsoever to ideas that undermine science, public health or democracy.

Vaccination is and always has been our saving grace. Legault’s failure to emphasize this fact diminishes what our collective effort has accomplished so far. Quebec has one of the most vaccinated populations in the world.

And thank goodness. We can only imagine the toll of this huge, Omicron-fueled fifth wave of the pandemic if fewer people had been immunized.

Quebec director of public health Dr. Luc Boileau revealed Wednesday that experts now estimate as many as 2.5 million Quebecers have been infected since December when official testing capacity was overwhelmed.

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The reason the vast majority recovered quickly at home was not because Omicron is less serious (on the contrary), but because of vaccination. As we know, the 550,000 Quebecers who haven’t had their shots were overrepresented in hospitals, particularly the ICU.

Boileau warns the fifth wave is not over yet. Even if we’re no longer “at war” with the virus, further efforts are still needed, like continuing the vaccination campaign, wearing masks and using the vaccine passport.

But it’s time to lift the most recent restrictions that have been so punishing for restaurants, bars, the arts, concert halls, athletes, dancers and small businesses — as long as we stick with the plan and go mollo.

People are fed up. People are ready to move on. Authorities need new strategies for managing the virus now that most people are vaccinated and it’s on its way to becoming endemic.

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Quebec has had among the most severe lockdown measures in the world and some weren’t particularly effective. There was little evidence the curfew made much difference and the now-scrapped proposal to tax the unvaccinated was a clearly a political wedge. And Legault has too often played yo-yo with people’s livelihoods — and mental health.

But if we’re at a welcome turning point in the pandemic where we can start returning to normal, let’s remember that mass vaccination is what got us here.

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