Quebec will try to persuade COVID-19 skeptics with personal stories

Sep 17, 2020 —

Following protests against safety measures and with coronavirus case numbers rising, Quebec Premier François Legault said the province will create a new communications campaign with personal stories of Quebecers who have recovered from COVID-19 or had a loved one die from the virus.

“As soon as citizens have had someone in their circle who has expercienced the consequences of COVID, the people who were skeptics are no longer skeptics,” Legault said. 

Public officials are also increasingly concerned about conspiracy theories they say are spreading online and shaping people’s real-life behavior, including the American export QAnon, which Buzzfeed News recently termed a “collection delusion.”

“If we are able on television, with the victims or people close to the victims, to have real cases that explain how difficult it can be to live with the consequences of COVID, that will perhaps succeed in sensibilizing people who still think there are no risks,” Legault said.

According to the CBC, police have arrested four people who made safety threats against Legault or other Quebec officials. They say the suspects were radicalized by false COVID-19 conspiracy theories shared online. Thousands took part in a demonstration in Montreal this past weekend where some protesters claimed the dangers of the virus were “fake news” or exaggerated.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, Quebec has reported nearly 66,000 cases and 5,788 fatalities.

Meanwhile, with case numbers also rising in Ontario, Premier Doug Ford said Thursday that the size of private gatherings allowed in the cities of Toronto, Ottawa, and Peel will be rolled back. 

Outdoor gatherings will be capped at 25 and indoor events will be limited to 10 people.