COVID-19: Quebec premier asks province's health workers to halt all travel

Coalition Avenir Quebec Leader Francois Legault. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jacques Boissinot

Quebec City — Concern over the coronavirus escalated on Wednesday in Quebec's capital as the Legault government announced a series of measures to prevent the COVID-19 outbreak in Quebec.

In a press scrum Wednesday morning, Premier Francois Legault said his government was preparing to issue a directive to hospital staff ordering them to give up travelling abroad, whether for professional or personal reasons.

He also recommends that students who have returned from a school trip to a country at risk be forced to quarantine themselves for two weeks, whether or not they have symptoms.

In addition, school administrators will be asked to cancel school trips planned for countries at risk, including Italy and China. The list of these countries where the coronavirus is prevalent will be made public.

The holding of large gatherings, whether sporting or cultural, has become another subject of concern in Quebec. For the moment, directives will not be targeting local events, but international events will now be assessed on a case-by-case basis to determine whether they should be cancelled or not.

In total, there have been seven people who have been diagnosed with the novel coronavirus in Quebec.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 11, 2020.