COVID-19: Quebec delays bringing civil servants back to office

Civil servants in Quebec will not be returning to the office next month amid an evolving fourth wave of COVID-19.

The provincial government announced the measure Monday, saying those workers will continue to work from home in the meantime.

Treasury Board Chair Sonia LeBel said the epidemiological situation has forced the government to put off bringing employees back again.

“As a responsible employer, the health and safety of public service employees is paramount,” she said in a statement.

Civil servants were supposed to head back to the office on Oct. 4, but the government did not provide a new date — saying it will only do so when the situation allows it.

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In late August, the province advised other employers to push back their plans to bring workers back to in-person spaces due to a rise in novel coronavirus cases and schools reopening. It said the recommendation would be revisited at the beginning of October.

Quebec reported 679 new cases Monday and one additional death. The province’s pandemic-related hospitalizations have been steadily increasing in the past weeks, with 280 patients in total.