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

• Quebec reported 1,256 new cases ofCOVID-19 on Sunday and onenewdeath.
• Since the start of the pandemic, there have been 454,636confirmed cases and 11,587people have died.
• There are 219people in hospital (adecrease of six), including59in intensive care (an decrease of one).
• As of Friday, the province has administered 13,695,097doses of theCOVID-19 vaccine.
• 86 per cent of the eligible population in the province (age five and up) hasreceived one dose of vaccine, and 81per cent hasreceived two doses.

Note: Quebec's vaccination rate has been adjusted to include five- to 11-year-olds, causing the overall percentage to drop. Vaccinations for the group began last week.

Quebec'sHealth Ministry does not publish the number of vaccines administered on weekends and public holidays.

Canada'sNational Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) is now strongly recommending a booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccine for all Canadians 50 and older as well as other vulnerable groups like health-care workers, Indigenous peoples, those living in congregate care settings andall those who only received the AstraZeneca vaccine.

According to new recommendations released by NACI Friday, the committee is also now recommendingCanadians aged 18 to 49 get a third mRNA shotat least six months after they got their second.

The new guidance comes after some provinces moved to offer more boosters.Starting this month, Ontario will make a third dose available to all residents aged 50 and older. In Alberta, anyone above the age of 18 will be eligible.

The Quebec government had said it has no plans to offer athird dose to those under the age of 70.

"If they change their mind, I'll change the way we proceed," Quebec PremierFranois Legault said. "But right now, we say: it's necessary only for people over 70 years old."

Decision on 3rd vaccine dose next week

Quebec will wait on advice from its public health director before expanding access to COVID-19 booster vaccines, Health Minister Christian Dub said Friday.

Speaking to reporters in Quebec City, Dub said he expected a decision on boosters from public health director Dr. Horacio Arruda next week.

"He has made some very good calls during those tough decisions,'' Dub said, adding that Quebec's vaccination program has broken with federal guidelines in the past, including when it chose a longer interval between first and second doses than was recommended by vaccine manufacturers and Ottawa.

Rapid tests for daycare parents

Parents who have children in Quebec's public or subsidized daycare network will soon be able to test their children for COVID-19 at home.

Families will start receiving the rapid home tests through their daycares on Monday. The hope is to preventoutbreaks by allowing parents to test children with symptoms at home.

If a child tests positive, the family must go to a designated screening centre to confirm the results with a laboratory test.

In all, 1.5 million tests are expected to be distributed across the province.

Hospitalizations expected to rise in coming weeks

Hospitalizations related to COVID-19 are expected to rise across the province, a government health-care research institute said Thursday.

The number of cases hasnearly doubled over the past month, which could correspond to a 30 per cent increase in hospitalizations, the institute, known by its French acronym INESSS,said in a projections report released Thursday.

Those aged 70 and over represent 35 per cent of all hospitalizations in the province, though the number of cases in intensive care has remained stable.

While the increase in cases can be seenacross all age groups,young people aged 12 to 17have been hit the hardest, with cases in that age group increasing by 53 per cent.

The current projections do not account for the omicron variant. The institute said the effect of omicron will be incorporated "when reliable estimates of its transmissibility, severity and [vaccine efficacy] are known."

Legault 'optimistic' about holidays, despite cases rising

Despite the province reporting 1,196new coronavirus infections, the highest single-day total in Quebec since April, Premier FranoisLegault said he's optimistic about the holiday season.

Health Minister Christian Dub mentioned the increase in cases while fielding questions from reporters about Premier FranoisLegault's recent comments about holiday gatherings.

The premiersaid he hopes indoor gathering limits can be increased from 10 to 20 or 25 in time for the holidays.

Although he couched his comments by saying he would wait to see what public health authorities recommend,Legault wascriticized by opposition party members, who say his statements will confuse Quebecersand make it harder for people to respect the rules.

During a news conference on Wednesday morning, Dubsaid the premier was expressing what most Quebecers are thinking, but he insistedthe government's main focus is trying to limit the spread of the virus, not holiday gatherings.

"I want us to get to Christmas, as low as possible with our cases," Dub said. He also pointed out that hundreds of thousands of vaccine-eligible Quebecersstill haven'tgot their shots, even if the province's vaccination rate remainshigh.

"We're not talking about the five- to 11-year-olds or the zero- to five-year-olds. There are 650,000 Quebecers who refuse to get vaccinated and we're at the start of a new variant, and we're at the start of winter," Dub said.

Earlier this week, Dub urged Quebecers to seriously reconsider any plans to travelthis holiday season, in light of the omicron COVID-19variant.

WATCH| Federal Health ministerJean-Yves Duclos on banning travellers from certain countries

Health minister explains reasons behind new flight ban

3 years ago

Duration 1:43

Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos says banning flights from certain countries is an effective way of keeping the omicron variant at bay because those countries don't all have the same reporting and tracing standards as Canada.

Montreal public healthapproach to omicron variant

Dr. Mylne Drouinsaid Montreal public health would adopt a "suppressive approach"to tackling the variant.

"We will be more aggressive," Drouin said. "We will isolate contacts even though they are doubly vaccinated, and we will do so until we have more information about this variant."

Currently, 66 people are hospitalized, including 31 in intensive care because of COVID-19 infections. Five hundredhospitalbeds in Montrealare available for more patients that may need to be hospitalized.

Drouin also said it was too early to envision lifting restrictions for holiday gatherings.

Top COVID-19 stories

• Ottawanixing molecular COVID test requirementfor Canadians taking short trips abroad: sources
• Quebecbacks down again on mandatory vaccination in health network
• Vaccines won't be mandatory for teachers, school staff as Quebec COVID-19 situation improves
• Doctorconvinced vaccine hesitant patient attendant to get her shotwith patience and respect
• Takea look inside:How a Montreal hospital deals with ongoing staffing shortages