Quebec details how and when infected employees could be sent back to work

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Quebec officials are planning the possibility of pulling more than just healthcare employees out of isolation and sending them back to work as a last resort.

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As the province continues to destroy daily COVID-19 case records, the Health Ministry on Wednesday outlined the circumstances under which health workers and other essential public service employees, such as first responders, could be dispatched from return to work after coming into contact with COVID-19 or hiring it themselves.

Employers will be allowed to bring back asymptomatic staff only if essential services are or will be interrupted soon. There is a four-step guide detailing the priority of who to bring back, starting with those in pre-emptive isolation (after several days). Asymptomatic staff who have tested positive for COVID-19 can return after five days of isolation if absolutely necessary.

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If services are still interrupted after exhausting the above options, employers are asked to contact public health to determine next steps.

“Bringing in people who are themselves COVID cases is our last option, and it must be done strictly with many precautionary measures,” said Dr. Yves Jalbert, medical director of public health protection at the Ministry of Health. “We are asking people who are infected and returning to work to be isolated, so … people must take their breaks in isolated places, food must be eaten in isolated places.”

He added that there may be an attempt to have infected workers exclusively treat infected patients, but that nothing is set in stone.

“We did not want to be, on the board, very strict with the use of those people who return to work when defining what clientele they will be assigned to,” Jalbert said. “Those are elements that will be managed by the establishment.”

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The ministry has not yet decided whether it will require infected personnel to disclose their health status to the people it is treating.

“We have to understand that we are putting protective measures around the (infected) person in their environment and in the way that we will provide care,” said Dr. Richard Massé, the government’s public health adviser.

Outside of the health care network, essential services staff will be asked to inform their colleagues about their condition, Massé said, adding that more details on those services will be received.

When asked if returning healthcare workers will need to wear N95 masks, Massé said they are already available in many situations and a plan is being finalized with the Commission des normes, de l’équité, de la santé et de la Sécurité du Travail (CNESST) to expand its use.

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“It is not planned to systematically require the use of N95 for the return of workers,” added Christine Savard, director general of governance and prevention strategic advice at CNESST. “It will depend on the situations.”

Massé said it would be difficult to measure the potential impact of bringing back personnel who may or may not be infected with COVID-19.

“We don’t know how much (the new course of action) will be used,” he said. “We’re going to start with the least problematic (situation), going further if necessary.”

Dr. Donald Vinh, an infectious disease specialist at McGill University Health Center, said these measures show the desperation facing Quebec during the latest wave of COVID-19.

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“This is another wake-up call, hopefully, to the government to realize that once again we are telling them that the health care system is understaffed,” he said. “And that should be a top priority for your schedule in the coming time.”

Authorities also announced Wednesday that vaccinated healthcare workers who are exposed to COVID-19 outside their home no longer need to isolate themselves. However, workers who are exposed to a positive case at home are asked to isolate themselves for seven days.

Virginie Ann of The Canadian Press contributed to this report.

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