MONTREAL — An employee of the Quebec Liberal party is being tested for COVID-19 after she exhibited symptoms of the novel coronavirus, leading to the suspension of a legislative committee on which she worked.
Anik Montminy, in the Liberal leader's office, said Tuesday in an email that the researcher reported having symptoms in the morning. A spokeswoman for the legislature said the staffer is waiting for results.
"The members of the legislature who were near her respected physical distancing rules ... but we don't want to take a chance," said Montminy.
Ewan Sauves, a spokesman for the Quebec premier, said Francois Legault "is in good health" and didn't feel the need to be tested.
"Mr. Legault ... did not feel any symptoms," Sauves said, adding the premier respects all of the province's directives from public health authorities such as wearing a mask, physical distancing and frequent hand-washing.
The Parti Quebecois has told all its members who may have come into close contact with the Liberal staffer to get tested as soon as possible.
A legislative committee on which the staffer worked was suspended until Thursday as a preventative measure.
Meanwhile, Quebec reported seven new deaths attributed to COVID-19 on Tuesday, for a total of 5,424. Authorities said five of the new deaths occurred in the past 24 hours while two occurred before June 15.
The province also reported 49 new cases of the novel coronavirus, for a total of 54,884, with 23,620 cases considered recovered.
Hospitalizations continue to drop, with 515 patients in hospital being treated for COVID-19, a reduction of five. There are 56 people in intensive care, a drop of one from the previous day.
Authorities are conducting significantly fewer tests than they were in recent weeks, with 5,582 performed on June 21, the latest day for which data is available.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 23, 2020.
The Canadian Press
