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Members of the Canadian Armed Forces are shown at Residence Yvon-Brunet, a long-term care home in Montreal, Saturday, May 16, 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic continues in Canada and around the world. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes

Quebec long-term care facilities need more medical staff, better use of PPE, military report finds

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MONTREAL -- Quebec has made public a report by the Canadian military into conditions at the province's long-term care facilities, which have been devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 60-page report, signed by Canadian Armed Forces Colonel T.M. Arsenault, details the observations made by military staff that worked at 25 of the residences in the Montreal area over the past few weeks.

Some 1050 of the 1350 miltary personnel deployed to Quebec amid the pandemic worked at the facilities, known as CHSLDs.

Military observers found that the residences had challenges in three general areas: establishing and managing "hot" and "cold" COVID-19 zones; proper usage of personal protective equipment (PPE); and, most significantly, improved staffing.

"According to our observations, the critical need for CHSLDs is an improved level of staff with medical training," Arsenault writes.

The office of Premier Francois Legault confirmed to CTV News that the government received the report late last night.

Legault will be available to answer questions about it at his daily COVID-19 briefing in Quebec City at 1 p.m.

Quebec made the report public a day after Ontario released a devastating report by the Canadian military on the "gut-wrenching" conditions at the province's seniors' residences.

More than 60 per cent of the more than 4,100 COVID-19-related deaths in Quebec occurred in the province's CHSLDs.

This is a developing story that will be updated.