7 months into pandemic, Quebec overhauls COVID-19 screening strategy

With the province in the middle of a second wave of COVID-19, the Quebec government has sacked the firm that, for months, hadbeen in charge of the its coronavirus screening system.

The province will replace one Quebec firm with another, abandoningAkinox and switching toa system developed by Deloittefor a one-year contract worth $12.4 million.

According to Radio-Canada, the new system will allow people to use the self-assessment tool that's already online and, at the same time, schedule a COVID-19 test near their home.

Negative test results will be sent bytext messageor email, which, according to a statement by Health Minister Christian Dub, "will free up nursing personnel to concentrate on COVID tests and contact tracing."

Deloitte's system, called Health Connect, is being tested by two regional health agencies one in northern Montreal and the other in the Quebec City region and is expected to be used across the province in the next six to eightweeks.

According to Radio-Canada, the government can cancel the contract if it is not satisfied with the results after 30 days.