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Boileau is urging Quebec residents to be cautious during Easter gatherings this weekend.
Publication date:
April 13, 2022 • 13 minutes ago • 15 minutes reading Photo by Pierre Obendrauf / Montreal Gazette
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Updated all day on Wednesday, April 13th. Questions / Comments: ariga@postmedia.com
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Top updates
- A new vaccine – Novavax – arrives in Quebec
- Videos: Highlights from today’s update of the Quebec pandemic
- CAQ says the opposition intends to obstruct the state’s emergency bill
- MNA to discuss proposal calling for investigation into CHSLD Herron tragedy
- Quebec is canceling some hospital procedures amid a sharp rise in hospitalizations
- Boileau urges Quebec residents to be cautious during Easter gatherings
- The United States will extend the mandate of transit masks until May 3 amid rising COVID
- Ontario hospitals are struggling with virus-related absences
- Côte-St-Luc asks Quebec to allow city councilors to attend meetings remotely
- Video: Trudeau speaks to reporters in Laval
- The growth of COVID patients is expected to accelerate over the next two weeks, the institute said
- Quebec hospitalizations exceed 2,000 for the first time since mid-February
- The province has reported 13 deaths as vaccinations increase
- According to a new study, children play a key role in the transmission of COVID
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- Vaccines have halved the number of victims of the pandemic in Italy, a study shows
- Drones, separated children and food shortages: Blockade in Shanghai calls into question COVID-zero
- Guide to COVID in Quebec: Vaccinations, testing
- Sign up for our free coronavirus nightly newsletter
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16:15
Thanks for reading
I will be back tomorrow with another live blog.
In the meantime, you can monitor our entire coverage through the coronavirus page.
My previous live blogs about COVID-19 are available here.
16:05
A new vaccine – Novavax – arrives in Quebec
Daniel Pare, coordinator of the vaccination campaign in Quebec, announced today that the province has begun receiving doses of a new type of vaccine – Novavax.
More than 6,000 doses have arrived and are distributed throughout the province. Quebec expects a total of more than 220,000 doses in the coming weeks.
In February, Novavax became the first protein vaccine approved by Health Canada. Some experts hope this will attract some unvaccinated Canadians who are hesitant to receive mRNA vaccines.
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Only certain vaccine clinics will offer Novavax, which is only available to people 18 and older, Pare said.
Quebecers can visit the provincial government’s website for the first doses of the vaccine for information on availability in different regions.
Registrations will be available from Friday, April 15. Those who wish must make an appointment by phone. In Montreal, the call number is 514-644-4545.
Quebec has published more information about Novavax on its website, but so far it is only available in French. You can find it here.
NEW | The Novavax vaccine will soon be available at selected vaccination sites.
From April 15, those aged 18+ must make an appointment by phone at 514 644-4545📞
More information: pic.twitter.com/jAQKrwaZef
– Health Montreal (@santemontreal) April 13, 2022
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15:30
Videos: Highlights from today’s update of the Quebec pandemic
“Stay where you are” instead of gathering for Easter if you have symptoms of COVID: Boileau
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“Completely safe” Boileau’s Easter gatherings will not pose a huge risk to the health network
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Why don’t Quebecers get their third dose of COVID-19 vaccine?
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14:50
CAQ says the opposition intends to obstruct the state’s emergency bill
Opposition parties in Quebec plan to obstruct the province’s legislature, House of Representatives leader Simon Jolin-Barrett said on Wednesday.
Health critic Vincent Marisal has denied the allegations.
“There is no dark conspiracy underway,” he said, arguing that the government was spreading all sorts of false, vague rumors of a conspiracy theory for the opposition, which was quietly working together to systematically block the proposed legislation.
Read our whole story.
14:50
MNA to discuss proposal calling for investigation into CHSLD Herron tragedy
Politicians in the National Assembly will hold a debate on Wednesday on a proposal calling for a full investigation into the tragic deaths of 47 elderly people at CHSLD Herron.
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Read our whole story by Philippe Authier.
14:20
Quebec is canceling some hospital procedures amid a sharp rise in hospitalizations
Quebec has been forced to cancel some hospital procedures as the province’s health system manages to build up COVID-positive patients.
Hospitalizations are at their highest level in two months.
More than 2,000 hospital beds in Quebec are currently occupied by people with COVID, up from less than 1,600 a week ago.
Dr Luc Boalo, the province’s interim director of public health, confirmed at a news conference today that clinical services were declining in some places.
But he said there was no general order to suspend services throughout the province.
Daniel Pare, assistant deputy health minister, told reporters that hospitals “manage the situation according to their epidemiological situation”.
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He said the health network was “learning to work” around the hospitalization jump, which comes at a time when nearly 13,000 health workers are absent due to COVID.
Earlier today, the National Institute for Excellence and Social Services (INESSS) warned that the increase in hospitalizations, which began about three weeks ago, is expected to accelerate over the next two weeks. (See the item below, printed 11:40 a.m.)
The increase in hospitalizations is complicated by the fact that some Quebecers are starting to get the flu, officials told reporters. The flu season is just beginning in Quebec; it usually begins in the fall and now subsides.
About 45% of COVID-positive patients are hospitalized for the virus, and the rest are hospitalized for other reasons, such as a broken leg or childbirth, Boalo said.
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But Boalo noted that even people hospitalized for other reasons must be isolated to protect other patients and healthcare professionals.
And some of those who are in the hospital for other reasons develop severe COVID during their hospitalization. “It’s never easy to have COVID,” he added.
Boalo said that “in general, the situation remains worrying” in Quebec.
“The pandemic is not behind us,” he said. “He is currently active and will continue for several weeks.”
He said experts estimate that Quebec experiences between 40,000 and 60,000 cases a day. “We hope that the increase in cases and the impact on hospitals will begin to stabilize and then begin to decrease,” he added.
Be careful at Easter gatherings: Boileau
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Boalo called on Quebec residents to be cautious during Easter rallies this weekend, especially with people aged 60 and over, as they are at the highest risk of severe COVID results.
Christians celebrate Easter this weekend. The Jewish holiday of Passover begins on Friday. Muslims gather for Ramadan this month.
Boalo noted that people with COVID symptoms can be contagious for up to 10 days.
He said that for many people, COVID now starts with a sore throat, “not a high temperature or loss of smell”, as was often the case with previous strains of COVID.
Boalo urged Quebec residents not to associate with people with symptoms, even if they did not test positive.
He said he would not offer the maximum number of people that could gather. “Everyone must take responsibility to protect themselves and to protect others.”
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Just because people have been vaccinated, even with four doses, doesn’t mean they can’t get infected, Boalo added.
“The vaccine is very good at preventing serious infections, but you can still become infected and contagious,” he said.
Vaccinations that increase to 60+ receive a fourth vaccine
Pare, the coordinator of the vaccination campaign in Quebec, told a news conference that many people aged 60 and older were embarking on the province’s proposal for a fourth dose (also known as a second booster).
He said…
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