(CBC News) — The first of three planned specialized COVID-19 screening clinics has opened in the shuttered emergency room of Montreal’s Hôtel-Dieu Hospital Monday — the same day that Quebec’s fifth presumptive case of an infection has been identified.
Quebec’s Health Ministry says this fifth presumptive case was a man who had been recently travelling. A sample has been sent to Canada’s National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg for confirmation.
Health Minister Danielle McCann said rather than just showing up at one of the new screening clinics, people who feel they have symptoms of COVID-19 should call Info-Santé 811 first to speak with a nurse.
At that point, if the nurse feels they may have the virus, they will book an appointment for the caller to be screened at one of the specialized clinics.
“The risk of contracting the virus is still low, but we are taking all necessary precautions to act quickly in a preventive and safe way for all,” McCann said Monday. (…)