At least 2 million Quebecers infected with Omicron variant, health officials estimate
CBC
Quebec's interim director of public health said he estimates at least two million Quebecers have been infected with the Omicron variant of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic's fifth wave in December, and in fact, it's likely that nearly half of all Quebecers have been infected with some form of COVID-19 since the pandemic was first declared.
Dr. Luc Boileau told a news conference Wednesday that using "some direct and some indirect" indicators, provincial health officials conclude that anywhere from two to 2.5 million Quebecers have been infected in recent weeks.
"That's a lot. This means that, in all probability, about 25 per cent of the population would have been infected recently," he said.
"If we add those who have been infected in the previous four waves, we surely exceed 40 per cent, and we're getting close to and perhaps reaching 50 per cent."
Boileau said that number, coupled with the increase in the number of Quebecers who have received booster doses over the last month, means now is the right time to begin lifting restrictions in the province.
But he insisted masking and vaccine passport requirements would stay in place until at least March 14.
After that, he said, "We'll see."
More to come
The amount of money it takes for people to earn a living wage has increased across the province, according to a new report from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA).
The new owner of Ontario steelmaker Stelco says his company "will not disappoint the people of Hamilton and Nanticoke," where the business's major facilities are based.
A Winnipegger is warning others about an intricate scam she says she almost fell for.
Fort William First Nation is opposing a planned redevelopment of the Ontario Power Generation's (OPG) 117 year old Kakabeka Falls Generating Station, which is located in their traditional territory.
A building that sits at the corner of Sussex Street and Brunswick Avenue has had many lives over the last century — being a church, a school and offices. Now it's set to become housing, at a time when the city sorely needs it.
A Waterloo, Ont., elementary school principal will be sentenced in the new year after pleading guilty to child sexual exploitation charges following a joint investigation that involved the London, Toronto and Waterloo police services.
Students at UPEI have let their student union know what they want from the province this fiscal year, and those priorities are reflected in a 2024-2025 advocacy document brought to the legislature on Wednesday.
Larger communities in the N.W.T. will soon see a boost in their territorial funding to maintain infrastructure and deliver services — like water and waste management — but the increase still falls short of what communities need.
The toxic drug crisis has taken more than 47,000 lives in Canada since 2016 and the synthetic opioid fentanyl has become a household name. But now, what's believed to be an even more potent class of synthetic drugs is showing up in drug busts across the country: nitazenes.
The Liberal government and the NDP have agreed to introduce a two-month GST vacation on certain items before the holiday season, Radio-Canada has learned.
Veterinarians are warning Londoners to make sure their dogs are vaccinated and keeping clean after a deadly virus outbreak was declared in London this week.