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

• Quebec reported 2,013 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday and six new deaths.
• Since the start of the pandemic, there have been 462,246 confirmed cases and 11,603 people have died.
• There are 256 people in hospital (an increase of one), including 62 in intensive care (an increase of two). 
• The province has administered 13,898,636 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, including 34,390 doses in the last 24 hours.
• 87 per cent of the eligible population in the province (age five and up) has received one dose of vaccine, and 81 per cent has received 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's Health Ministry does not publish the number of vaccines administered on weekends and public holidays. 

Montreal public health is asking people who may have visited a LaSalle community centre or a gym in Kirkland at certain times to get tested for the omicron variant of COVID-19.

The two places in question are Buzzfit Kirkland, located at 3240 Jean-Yves Street and the Centre culturel et communautaire Henri-Lemieux located at 7644 Édouard Street in LaSalle.

You can find out more about the specific dates and times as well as the testing sites here. 

Quebec's health minister is urging people not to panic even though the province recorded the highest number of new COVID-19 cases since mid-January on Thursday.

Dubé said the spike in case numbers was to be expected, after the province loosened certain health restrictions last month. He said he expects the situation to stabilize when more children aged five to 11 are vaccinated.

The number of cases in Quebec increased sharply by 29 per cent compared to last week, according to INESSS, a government health-care research institute known by its French acronym.

The number of new hospitalizations could increase across the province in the coming weeks, INESSS said in a projections report released Thursday.

Still, compared to the second wave of the pandemic, the report revealed hospitalizations are down 81 per cent.

With the government easing gathering restrictions in time for the holidays, Gilbert Boucher, head of Quebec's association of emergency medicine specialists, says we need to remember that last year was "very chaotic for everyone in the health-care system." 

Rapid tests for Quebec kids

Quebec's Health Ministry has announced that all preschool and elementary school students will be receiving rapid COVID-19 screening tests that can be used at home. 

Starting this week, tests will be distributed to school boards and service centres in Montreal, the Eastern Townships, Chaudière-Appalaches, Lanaudière, the Montérégie and the Laurentians  — regions where the epidemiological situation is "more worrisome," according to the Health Ministry. 

As the holidays approach, each student will be given a kit in their school bag that includes five tests as well as the materials and instructions for performing them. Rapid tests, which provide results in as little as 15 minutes, may be used for children who have any symptoms similar to those of COVID-19.

Distribution will be carried out by the Health Ministry and will take place gradually. Other regions will receive the tests starting the week of Dec. 13. 

Since rapid tests are deemed to be less reliable than those used in the laboratory, in the event that a child tests positive, parents must make an appointment to have the diagnosis confirmed at a screening centre.

COVID-19 holiday enforcement

Police officers across the province will be out in great numbers over the next two weekends to ensure people in restaurants and bars comply with COVID-19 health measures.

Public Security Minister Geneviève Guilbault said in particular, officers will be ensuring that the establishments are checking customers' vaccine passports. 

The checks will take place particularly on Dec. 9, 10 and 11 and Dec. 16, 17 and 18.

Guilbault asks the public to be respectful in order to ensure the holiday celebrations go smoothly and safely.

"It is important to maintain safe behaviour during the holidays, for our health and to get us out of this pandemic as quickly as possible," she said in a Thursday press release. 

Total of 5 omicron cases in Quebec

Quebec is reporting four additional cases of the omicron COVID-19 variant.

The Health Ministry said in a post on Twitter Thursday that the cases were detected among travellers and that seven more cases were under investigation.

Quebec had previously reported one case of the omicron variant in the province. It, too, was travel-related. So far, the province does not appear to have community transmission of the new variant.

On Wednesday, Pfizer and BioNTech said a three-shot course of their COVID-19 vaccine was able to neutralize the new omicron variant in a laboratory test and that they could deliver an omicron-based vaccine in March 2022 if needed.

The companies said that two vaccine doses resulted in significantly lower neutralizing antibodies, but that a third dose of their vaccine increased the neutralizing antibodies by a factor of 25.

Booster shots

The Quebec government has announced that health-care workers can now get their booster shots.

Health Minister Christian Dubé, public health director Dr. Horacio Arruda and Daniel Paré, director of the vaccination campaign in Quebec, held a news conference Tuesday to announce the details.

Currently in Quebec, booster doses are only available to people over 70, those with weakened immune systems and people who had received two doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.

But people age 60 and over will have to wait for the beginning of January to get theirs. Dubé said the reason for the delay is that the province has just enough staff right now to administer vaccines to seniors, young children and those already eligible for boosters.

Canada's National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) is strongly recommending a booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccine for all Canadians 50 and older.

The recommendation also extends to health-care workers, Indigenous people and those living in congregate-care settings and all those who only received the AstraZeneca vaccine.

The committee is also recommending Canadians age 18 to 49 get a third mRNA shot at least six months after they got their second.

Holiday gathering limits

The Quebec government has announced an easing of public health rules for this holiday season. 

As of Dec. 23, parties can include up to 20 people who are fully vaccinated.

But the health minister said it is still important to limit contacts and behave responsibly.

And the province's public health director said it would be very unwise for unvaccinated people to hold large gatherings or for guest lists to include a mix of non-vaccinated and fully protected people.

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