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

• Quebec reported 875 new cases ofCOVID-19 on Sunday and no newdeaths.
• Since the start of the pandemic, there have been 446,631confirmed cases and 11,574people have died.
• There are 216 people in hospital (an increase of 11), including 48in intensive care (no change).
• As of Friday, the province has administered 13,726,184doses of theCOVID-19 vaccine.
• 85 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 on Wednesday.

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

Canada has detected its first two cases of the omicronCOVID-19variant in Ottawa,the Ontario government announced Sunday.

"Today, the province of Ontario has confirmed two cases of the omicron variant of COVID-19 in Ottawa, both of which were reported in individuals with recent travel from Nigeria. Ottawa Public Health is conducting case and contact management and the patients are in isolation," the statement said.

The news comesjust days after the country implemented new travel restrictions on foreign nationals who had visited several countries in southern Africa over the preceding two weeks.

Those travel restrictions went into effect on Friday. The omicron variant was first identified by South African researchers and has provoked global concern.

In a statement released Sunday, Canada's Health MinisterJean-Yves Duclossaid the confirmation of two omicron cases isa signal that the country's monitoring system isworking but to expect more cases of the variant.

In a tweet Sunday, Quebec Health Minister Christian Dubsaid the ministry is following the situation closely with the province's public health department (INSPQ)to observe the evolution of the variant in the province.

The Public Health Agency of Canada said border measures could change as the situation develops.

"The Government of Canada will continue to assess the evolving situation and adjust border measures as required," it said.

Vaccinations for kids 5 to 11 in full swing

About a quarter of the children in Quebec agefive- to 11-years-oldhave COVID-19 vaccination appointments booked, according to the province'sHealth Ministry.

The government said Friday that 172,600 appointments had been made thus far, with 15,603 first doses given to children aged between five and 11. Quebecis hoping to give one dose to each eligible child by Christmas.

"They are brave. I am proud of them, really," Premier Franois Legault tweeted on Thursday. "I also want to thank their parents and the vaccination teams."

As of next week, vaccines will be administered in schools as well, to children whose parents have signed consent forms.

WATCH | Quebec's vaccine program for children explained:

Quebecs COVID-19 vaccination program for children explained

3 years ago

Duration 2:26

Quebec children age five to 11 can now get their shots. The premier hopes parents will get their kids vaccinated, but he doesn't want to pressure them.

Under-5 vaccinations and herd immunity

For those under the age of five,Canada's chief public health officer Theresa Tam said vaccinations could potentially start as early as the new year.

Speaking to Radio-Canada, Tam said that clinical trials are currently underway for children aged six months to five years old.She said she hopes to see theresults of the those trialsby the end of the year.

As one of the last remaining portions of the population to get vaccinated, kids will play an important role in ending the pandemic, health experts say.

Earlier in the pandemic, the threshold for achieving herd immunity suggested by some was about 70 per cent. But more recently, health experts say that threshold should be higher because of the highly contagious delta variant.

"With the original COVID strain, if we were at 80 or 85 per cent, we would probably have very, very low transmission and not have to worry," said Dr. Tehseen Ladha, a pediatrician and assistant professor of pediatrics at University of Alberta in Edmonton.

"But the fact that we're here now with delta, which is so much more transmissible, means that we need a herd immunity of closer to 90 per cent, 95 per cent."

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