Ottawa, December 30 (RHC)-- The Canadian province of Quebec will allow some essential workers to continue working even after testing positive for COVID-19, in what Health Minister Christian Dube said was an effort to prevent staff shortages from impeding healthcare services.

“Omicron’s contagion is so exponential that a huge number of personnel have to be withdrawn — and that poses a risk to the network capacity to treat Quebecers,” Dube told reporters at a briefing in Ottawa.  “We made the decision that under a certain condition, positive staff will be able to continue working according to a list of priority and risk management.”

Quebec, which has been setting daily records since the Omicron variant started a new wave of rapidly rising infections, recorded 12,833 new cases on Monday — the highest one-day count of any region in Canada during the pandemic.