Montreal, Jan 12 (AFP\/APP):The Canadian province of Quebec, struggling to control the Omicron variant, will impose a new health tax in the coming weeks on those who are not vaccinated against Covid-19.<\/p>\n
“We are working on a health contribution for all the adults who are refusing to get vaccinated” because they represent a “financial burden for all Quebecois,” said Quebec Premier Francois Legault.<\/p>\n
The 10 percent of Quebecois who have not yet received any vaccine doses must not “harm” the 90 percent who have, he said.<\/p>\n
“It is not on all Quebecois to pay for that,” he said during a press conference, specifying that the government of the French-speaking province wanted the tax to represent a “significant amount”.<\/p>\n
“I feel this discontent with regard to the unvaccinated minority which, all things considered, clogs our hospitals,” he said.<\/p>\n
The Quebec premier explained that these 10 percent of unvaccinated adults represent 50 percent of people in intensive care, calling it a “shocking” situation.<\/p>\n
He said that those who are unvaccinated for medical reasons will be exempt from the move.<\/p>\n
In an attempt to stem the new wave, Quebec announced on December 30 the return of certain restrictions, including a 10 pm curfew and a ban on private gatherings.<\/p>\n
In total, 2,742 people with Covid are hospitalized and some 255 people are in intensive care in Quebec, which has about 8 million inhabitants.<\/p>\n
Hospitalizations also continue to increase in neighboring province Ontario, the most populous in Canada, with 3,220 people hospitalized and 477 people in intensive care.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Montreal, Jan 12 (AFP\/APP):The Canadian province of Quebec, struggling to control the Omicron variant, will impose a new health tax in the coming weeks on those who are not vaccinated against Covid-19. “We are working on a health contribution for all the adults who are […]<\/p>\n
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