COVID-19 in Quebec: What you need to know this weekend

• Quebec reported 666new caseson Sundayand 15deaths.
• Since the start of the pandemic, there have been282,122confirmed cases and10,307people have died.
• There are686people in hospital (a decrease of 14), including119in intensive care (a decrease of one).
• 13,020doses ofvaccine were administered.A total of 344,900doses have been administered sinceDec. 14.
• Businesses and other services are gradually reopening.Here's a list of what is open, and what is still closed.

The province appears to be taking a cautious approach to school outbreaks given the risks posed by variant strains of the novel coronavirus, with public health departments implementingtotal shutdowns at a growing number ofschools.

Public health authorities in Quebec City largely completed mass testingSunday of allstaff and students at anelementary schoolin Cap-Rougewhere they suspected aCOVID-19 variant may have been circulating.

Mass testing campaigns areunfolding at schools in Blainville, north of Montreal, and Saint-Bruno, on Montreal's South Shore, which, like the Quebec City school, havebeen closed.

Earlier in the week, theGrands-tresprimaryschool in Montreal's Saint-Laurent boroughshut its doorsuntil after March break because of a suspected variant case.

Meanwhile, gym owners and exercise afficionados are frustrated by the Quebec government's decision toletpeople swim at indoor pools or skate in arenas, but not work out in gyms.

Wearing a mask while working out isn't recommended and people move around a lot in a gym, increasing the risk of transmission,Quebec'sHealth Ministry said in a statement.

Gabriel Hardy, Quebec head the Fitness Industry Council of Canada, questions the government's motivation for keeping gyms closed. He said the benefits of keeping fit "largely outweigh the risks when they are supervised correctly."

If you have been feelingisolated, we'vecompiledsome ways to help cope as part ofa special CBC Quebec project calledOut of the Dark: Real Talk on Mental Health.

Out of the Dark: Small steps

4 years ago

Duration 1:00

It can be tough to know at what point struggling with sadness becomes more than you can bear on your own.

Top COVID-19 stories today

• Experts say the sharp drop in coronavirus infections in nursing homesowesto multiplefactors, including vaccines.
• Provincial modelling says Quebec can cope with coronavirus variants if people follow the rules.
• The Big O is still useful, as it's being turned into a large vaccination site.
• As vaccine deliveries resume, the pressure shifts onto Quebec to ramp up its inoculation campaign.
• Families are sad, disappointedthat probe into deaths at CHSLD Herron is delayed.
• Montreal community groups press, once again, for race-based data on COVID-19.