COVID-19: Mobile Screening Clinic Not Exclusively for Mercier Residents

People from neighbouring communities can also present themselves at the COVID-19 mobile screening clinic that will be held there on Thursday. Spokesperson for the Montérégie Public Health Directorate, Chantal Vallée confirmed the information to the Soleil de Châteauguay on Wednesday. Tests will be conducted from 9:30 am to 4:00 pm at the Centre Communautaire Roger-Tougas, located at 730, boulevard Saint-Jean-Baptiste. Appointments are not required. Public Health officials answered Mercier Mayor Lise Michaud’s request following a COVID-19 outbreak which is affecting many people and businesses in the area. The outbreak was the result of two private parties in the region, as well as a get-together at a Brossard pub. The epidemiological investigation related to the 60+ people who attended one or many of the gatherings is ongoing. “Today, we have over forty confirmed cases. Yesterday there were 20. It is continuing to increase,” stated Chantal Vallée. Those infected did not necessarily attend the parties, some of them caught it from an infected partygoer. Public Health officials are working on identifying people who have been in close contact with those infected. What is a “close contact”? “It’s complicated. It depends. The person must be contagious and it requires close contact that lasts for a certain amount of time. It’s not enough to have crossed paths with someone,” Ms. Vallée clarified. Measures to Implement in the Case of an Infected Employee Public Health does not oblige a business to close upon a positive COVID-19 case, Chantal Vallée reiterated. The employee in question and the colleagues who had close contact with that individual must, however, be confined. “We understand that a company with few employees cannot operate if they are confined and can no longer work,” observed Ms. Vallée. She reminded that the CNESST developed a guide for businesses to inform them of the procedures to undertake should an employee become infected, as well as the health and social distancing guidelines that must be followed.