The Canadian province of Quebec to impose a health tax on residents who fail to get vaccinated against Covid-19.
Quebec will be first province in Canada to financially penalize the unvaccinated. This comes as a result of increasing covid-19 cases in the province. Quebec currently has the highest number of covid-19 related deaths in Canada, with a continuous surge in infections.
The federal statistics show that a little over 85% of residents had received at least one vaccine dose by January 1, 2022. At least 12.8% of residents remain unvaccinated, but they make up nearly a third of all hospital cases.
Premier for Quebec, Francois Legault, said during a news conference that residents who have not received their first dose of vaccine will have to pay a “contribution”. The fee has not yet been decided, but will be “significant”, he said.
“I think right now it’s a question of fairness for the 90% of the population who made some sacrifices, I think we owe them this kind of measure.” “Mr. Legault said.
Earlier this year, the province had announced that it would require proof of vaccination to shop in government cannabis and liquor stores.
A curfew is also in place, the second one of the pandemics, running from 10:00 pm to 05:00 am each day. Quebec’s death toll from Covid had reached 12,028 with 8,710 new cases as of January 11, 2022.
This comes after 62 deaths were recorded in the previous 24-hour period. The daily figure represents a similar rate to January 2021, before general vaccinations had begun in the province.
Provincial data shows that the percentage of Covid patients in intensive care who have not been vaccinated is 45%.
Hospitals in Montreal, the province’s largest city, are nearing 100% capacity and have already started limiting non-Covid related care.
Quebec is however not the only region in the world seeking to impose a financial penalty on residents reluctant to taking the vaccines.
Starting later this January, the government of Greece will be asking residents over age 60 to pay a €100 penalty for each month that they remain unvaccinated.
Singapore has required Covid patients to pay for their own medical bills if they are not vaccinated.
Source: BBC.com
