COVID-19 in Quebec: What you need to know Monday

• On Monday, Quebec reported2,425people in hospital (an increase of14 from the previous day), including 178in intensive care (an increase inone from the previous day).
• The province reported 2,240 new cases of COVID-19 and 20deaths.
• Since the start of the pandemic, there have been 883,192confirmed cases and 13,495people have died.
• The province also reported Monday a total of17,992,280doses of COVID-19 vaccines administered, including21,748in the last 24 hours.
• 91 per cent of the eligible population in the province (agedfive and up) have received one dose of the vaccine;85 per cent have received two doses, and 47per cent have received three doses.

The new cases are those reported to the Quebec government only. They are believed to be an underrepresentation of the virus's spread, given the limited availability of PCR tests and use of home testing kits.

Venues across Quebec's cultural sector are set to partially reopen today after being shut down since December.

Cinemas, theatres, concert halls and sports venues are allowed to reopen at 50 per cent capacity or a maximum of 500 people (1,000 for outdoor events) and proof of vaccination is required for entry.

Places of worship can also reopenwith a cap of 250vaccinated people.

As the province enters the second phase of its reopening plan amid an ongoing decline in hospitalizations,Montreal Mayor Valrie Plante is calling on the government toprovide a concrete reopening plan for the spring and summer.

"Other provinces have this plan, they have this predictability, but not Quebec," she said. "Montreal, as a cultural metropolis, economic locomotive, needs this plan to support its entire [cultural] industry."

The first phase in the province's reopening plan began last week when restaurant dining rooms reopened to patrons and school sports were allowed to resume.

The next phase will see restrictions lift for all indoor sports, gyms and spas as of Feb. 14, while bars and casinos will remain closed until further notice.

Protests in Quebec City wane

Quebec City police made one arrest aftercrowds of protesters opposed to COVID-19 restrictionsconverged in front of the National Assembly Saturday.

Officers arrested a 31-year-old man for blocking traffic with his vehicle.

Police issued 11 tickets to protestersfor disturbing the peaceand 10 for violatingthe Highway Safety Code.

Since Thursday evening, trucks and smallervehicles had poured into the city from across the province.

Convoys of drivers camefrom different parts of the province including the North Shore, Lower St-Lawrence, Saguenay and Beauce regions.

The protesters,includingfamilies with children, cheered and wavedsigns calling for the end of vaccine passports and other public health restrictions.

On Sunday, protesters vacated the area after police ordered them to leave by 5 p.m., butorganizers warnedthey'll be coming back in a few weeks if allCOVID-19 restrictions aren't lifted.

Mixed messaging on masks for sports

Sports are slowly resuming across Quebec, but some young athletes are frustrated with the muddied guidelines around when and where masks must be worn.

Children and youths under 18 were allowed to return to indoor sports on Jan. 31, for practices only,with gatherings limited to25 people. The province has said masks must be worn at all times, for all ages, if a sport is taking place in a school or as an extracurricular activity.

However, if the sport is taking place in a public space, such as a municipalfacility, the new rules depend on the age of the participants: children under the age of 10 are not required to wear a mask. For all those 10 and up,a mask is mandatory at all times, except during an intense period of play, the Health Ministry said this week.

When asked to clarify the rules last week, interim director of public healthDr. Luc Boileau said that he recommends wearing the mask at all times, "but if there are very intense activities, it is understandable that it may not be worn."

"It is obvious that if you are very hot, you are doing an intense sport, you are on the ice, for example, you could take off the mask if you feel more comfortable taking it off," said Boileau.

Hospitalizations could rise in February

Public health officials in Quebec are warningthat the relaxing of COVID-19 restrictions in recent weeks may lead to an increase in hospitalizations in February,but they admit it's difficultto say with certainty.

"We shouldn't worry too much, but it's quite likely that the lifting ofmeasures will lead to more contagion, with the risk in particular of seeing more hospitalizations," said the interim director of public health, Dr. Luc Boileau, at a news conference Wednesday.

The number of COVID-19 patients occupying hospital bedsin Quebec havesteadily declinedover the last couple of weeks, and the latest projections from Quebec's institute of public health, INSPQ,suggest that decline could continue, but that the relaxing of public health measures may slow the decline or cause an increase in cases in the weeks to come.

Boileausaid much of what happens will depend on the behaviour of Quebecers.He said social distancing, masking, and getting vaccinated remain important.

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