COVID-19 in Quebec: What you need to know Friday
CBC
Quebec's Health Ministry does not publish the number of vaccines administered on weekends and public holidays.
Quebec reported Friday its highest daily COVID-19 case count since the pandemic began.
The province announced 3,768 cases on Friday, the most ever reported in a single day. The previous record was on Jan. 9, when Quebec reported 3,127.
Deaths and hospitalizations still remain comparatively low compared to Jan. 9, when 41 deaths were declared with another 1,392 were in hospital.
Montreal's Sainte-Justine's hospital reported a baby under two months of age has died of complications from COVID-19. The hospital released few details other than to say the baby was in good health at birth and died yesterday after a stay in the intensive care unit.
According to data released Thursday by Quebec's public health research institute, the INSPQ, there are currently 309 presumed cases of the Omicron variant in the province.
The milestone comes as the Quebec government tightens measures ahead of the holiday season.
New measures to combat COVID-19 will be coming into effect Monday, as Quebecers prepare for the holidays and cases soar across the province.
Premier François Legault announced the new measures Thursday evening at a news conference.
"In this fight that we are waging, it's not enough to just get vaccinated," Legault said.
The new measures walk back previous announcements made by the government ahead of the holidays. The government had previously announced that 20 people could gather together indoors. Legault said they will be reducing that limit to 10.
The measures also include reduced capacity in certain public spaces like restaurants and places of worship, and a delayed return to school for high school students in the province. A full list can be found here.
The measures aim to curb hospitalizations in the New Year. According to the latest projections from the provincial government health-care research institute, known by its french acronym INESSS, as many as 700 Quebecers could be in hospital due to the virus by early January, with about 160 of them in intensive care.
To that end, Legault is not ruling out further restrictions. Asked if the province will reinstate the curfew, he said officials believe the current rules will be enough, but next week may be different.
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