COVID live updates: As cases, hospitalizations rise, Quebec to provide 4th vaccine dose to CHSLD residents, people 80+

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Updated throughout the day on Wednesday, March 23. Questions/comments: [email protected]

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Top updates

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4 p.m.

Quebec lays out plan to administer 4th vaccine doses

The provincial government today announced that some Quebecers will be eligible for fourth vaccine doses as of Tuesday, March 29.

In a press release, the Health Department said people who live in long-term care homes (CHSLDs) and other types of seniors’ residences will be visited by mobile teams of vaccinators.

“No action is necessary on the part of the residents or their loved ones to make an appointment,” the department said.

The fourth dose will also be administered to Quebecers who are 80 and older and to people who are immunocompromised.

These people will be able to book vaccination appointments via Clic Santé as of Tuesday, the government said.

3:40 p.m.

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Former union leader accused of taking payment for promoting COVID test kits

From the Bloomberg news agency:

The former head of Canada’s largest private-sector union has been accused of accepting money from a firm supplying Covid-19 test kits in return for promoting them to employers.

Jerry Dias, who was the national president of Unifor until 10 days ago, took $50,000 from a maker of the kits, violating the union’s code of ethics, according to an internal investigation. Dias declined to participate in the investigation, Unifor officials said at a news conference Wednesday.

Dias took medical leave in February and announced his retirement on March 13, citing health issues. The next day, the union disclosed that Dias had been under investigation since late January for “an alleged breach of the Unifor constitution,” though it didn’t give specifics at the time.

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In a written statement on Wednesday that didn’t directly address the accusation, Dias said he has recently been using prescription drugs and alcohol to cope with a health issue.

“This past December, my life took a remarkable turn for the worse when I was confronted with a debilitating sciatic nerve issue. It’s hard for me to say this, but my coping mechanism has been pain killers, sleeping pills and alcohol,” Dias wrote. “These factors have impaired my judgment in recent months, and I owe it to our members to seek the treatment I need.”

“My physician has told me, straight up, that I need help. That’s why I am entering a residential rehabilitation facility. I will also be stepping away temporarily from all of my advisory positions,” Dias said.

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Unifor represents about 315,000 workers in Canada and is the primary union representing automotive workers.

3:25 p.m.

No plan to re-introduce pandemic restrictions, Legault says

Speaking to reporters this morning, Quebec Premier François Legault said he does not plan to add more pandemic restrictions as cases and hospitalizations rise in the province.

“We have to be careful, we speak every day to public health,” Legault said.

“We didn’t see any additional measures in Europe and usually the situation (there) is about a couple of weeks (ahead of) what we live here, so, so far, we have no plan to add new measures.”

Europe has experience a dramatic rise in COVID-19 cases in recent weeks.

Quebec has lifted all pandemic measures except for mask mandates.

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Legault was asked if he will continue to wear a mask even after they’re no longer mandatory.

“Yes, I’ll continue to wear it for a certain period.”

3:15 p.m.

Live: As cases, hospitalizations rise, Quebec to provide fourth vaccine dose to CHSLD residents, people 80+

Dr. Luc Boileau, Quebec’s interim director of public health, says he is no longer considering lifting mandatory mask rules before mid-April.

Speaking at a pandemic briefing in Quebec City this afternoon, he said he now expects to stick with the original mid-April end to mask rules in all spaces except public transit.

Boileau said the BA.2 subvariant of the Omicron variant is behind the rise in cases in Quebec. BA.2 now accounts for about half of Quebec cases, he noted.

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The subvariant is not more dangerous than the original Omicron but is 30 to 50 per cent more contagious than its cousin, which was itself much more contagious than previous variants, he said.

Boileau said his department has recommended that “the most vulnerable Quebecers” be eligible for a fourth vaccine dose.

Starting Tuesday, March 29, people who live in long-term care homes (CHSLDs) and other types of seniors residences, as well as Quebecers who are at least 80 years old and living in the community. In addition, some immunocompromised people will be eligible.

At least three months must have elapsed since their last COVID vaccination.

Quebec began administering third doses in CHSLDs in early October – more than five months ago.

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Boileau said the new vaccination campaign is a “precautionary measure.”

“There are no clear signals that there’s a loss of vaccine efficiency for these people,” he added.

Quebecers who have received three doses are well-protected against serious illness, Boileau stressed. Protection may drop over time but that hasn’t been proven in studies, Boileau said.

“What we’re doing today is we’re saying for people who are most at risk who want to get a fourth dose, we think it’s correct and possible,” he said, adding that fourth doses could help reduce the risk of outbreaks in CHSLDs.

People infected in recent weeks will be well-protected for several months and do not need to get a fourth dose, Boileau said.

A reporter asked Boileau why Quebec is not considering re-imposing restrictions the way it did in December when cases and hospitalizations were rising.

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In response, he said the situation is “very different” today.

For example, the vaccination rate is much higher now, he said. And over the past three months, many people contracted COVID, which gave them some immunity. Quebec estimates more than three million people have been infected since the Omicron wave began in December.

Boileau defended Quebec’s decision to lift almost all restrictions, saying he expected that move would lead to more community spread as people spent more time with others, though “not necessarily a big wave.”

He added: “We’re not surprised by the rise in cases in hospitals (but) we’re not expecting (hospitalizations) to be as high as they were two months ago and we’re following the situation very carefully,” he said.

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Quebec currently has 1,034 COVID-positive patients in hospitals. In mid-January, at the peak of the last wave, hospitals were treating more than 3,400 patients.

Boileau said “it’s difficult for us to say if we’re in a sixth wave right now. It’s mostly after a few days or a couple of weeks that we could say ‘Oh, OK, it was a wave.’”

At the moment, “we’re only observing some cases going up but not necessarily for a period of two or three weeks.”

“We think it’s normal to see an increase in cases, we do not fear a sixth wave at the moment – and if the question is, ‘Do we fear a sixth wave of the magnitude of the one we just had?’ we do not fear that,” Boileau added.

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1:35 p.m.

U.S. may soon authorize second booster shot for people 65+ : report

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12:10 p.m.

Quebec hospitalizations expected to increase over next two weeks, projections suggest

For the first time since early January, the number of COVID-positive patients in Quebec hospitals is expected to increase.

In projections published today, the Institut national d’excellence en santé et en services sociaux (INESSS) said over the next two weeks, it expects “an increase in the number of new hospitalizations as well as the number of regular beds occupied by COVID patients.”

The forecast comes as Quebec is seeing an increase in the number of laboratory-confirmed COVID cases.

However, the Quebec government health-care research institute, which publishes weekly hospitalization projections, said it foresees “a relative stabilization” in the number of intensive-care beds occupied by COVID patients.

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Looking back at the situation in Quebec hospitals last week, the institute said hospitalizations fell for a ninth consecutive week, but it noted that the decline was less marked than in previous weeks.

The decrease was observed in all age groups, except for people aged 18 to 39, for whom the number of new hospitalizations increased. However, this age group represents a small number of hospitalizations, the INESSS said.

Hospitalizations dropped slightly to 1,034 today after the province reported its biggest spike in hospitalizations since January.

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11:10 a.m.

Chart: Current situation vs. one year ago

11:10 a.m.

Charts: Quebec cases, deaths

11:10 a.m.

Charts: Quebec’s vaccination campaign

11:05 a.m.

Quebec reports 2 deaths, jump in lab-confirmed cases

Quebec has recorded 2,111 new cases of COVID-19, the provincial government announced this morning.

The case tally only includes people who received PCR tests at government screening clinics. It does not accurately reflect the number of cases since it does not include the results of home rapid tests.

At 2,111, today’s number of lab-confirmed infections is the highest since mid-February.

In addition, two new deaths were reported, bringing the cumulative total to 14,274.

Some other key statistics from Quebec’s latest COVID-19 update:

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10:20 a.m.

Quebec braces for possible 6th wave, prepares to provide additional vaccine dose to seniors

Radio-Canada is reporting that Dr. Luc Boileau, Quebec’s interim public health director, yesterday asked health establishments to prepare “very quickly” for the probability of a sixth wave of COVID-19 in Quebec and the administration of a fourth vaccine for seniors.

The network reported that the possibility of a sixth wave is a growing concern for health officials in the province.

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Quebec will announce today for the first time since mid-February, more than 2,000 positive cases were confirmed by PCR tests yesterday, Radio-Canada says.

Boileau is set to hold a pandemic briefing at 2 p.m. I’ll have a video feed and live coverage.

10 a.m.

U.K.’s lockdown anniversary marked by another virus surge

From the Bloomberg news agency:

Two years ago, Prime Minister Boris Johnson locked down the U.K., instructing people to stay at home and imposing sweeping restrictions in a desperate effort to slow the surging coronavirus.

Today, lockdowns are history. But COVID-19 remains.

In recent weeks, cases have risen anew, driven by the highly infectious Omicron BA.2 subvariant. Over the past two weeks, daily cases have averaged more than 75,500 — far above levels during the first wave in 2020, when testing was far less widespread.

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The introduction of the first lockdown in 2020 was a major reversal for Johnson. He’d been reluctant to implement such strict measures, and he was heavily criticized for delaying action.

The latest rapid spread of infections may also be linked to changes in behaviour. Johnson announced the end of virtually all COVID-related restrictions in January after a series of start-stop moves as pandemic waves came and went over the past two years.

More people have returned to offices, are travelling again, and surveys show that the social distancing measures that came to define life during the pandemic are fast being discarded.

One major U.K. success story has been its vaccination rollout. Almost 86 per cent of the country has had two doses, and 67 per cent have got a booster shot. That’s helped to keep hospitalizations and deaths lower relative to earlier coronavirus waves.

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But even with that huge effort to rapidly develop vaccines and get them into people, deaths have surpassed 160,000.

And the emergence of new variants continues to drive fresh surges in infections, as it has in multiple countries around the world.

There’s hope that COVID is moving toward a less dangerous phase, with Omicron causing less severe illness, and vaccines and new therapies bolstering the body’s defences against the disease. Still, in addition to variants, scientists worry about long COVID and the measures in place to respond to future flare-ups.

World Health Organization officials and some scientists have expressed concerns over the pace at which restrictions were lifted, but politicians were under pressure from a public eager to move on from two years of limitations on movement and socializing.

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The U.K. has also moved to reduce the availability of costly COVID tests.

“I understand that the U.K. government is keen to stop spending on expensive testing infrastructure, and people have had enough of isolation requirements,” said Simon Clarke, associate professor in Cellular Microbiology at the University of Reading.

“But the government must be careful not to dismantle all the systems which have allowed U.K. planners to stay ahead of the Omicron wave through a successful vaccination drive.”

9:30 a.m.

Moderna says its COVID shot for kids under six is safe

Moderna Inc said on Wednesday it will ask regulators to authorize its COVID-19 vaccine in children younger than 6 years old based on data showing it generated a similar immune response to adults in its clinical trial.

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Read our full story.

9:30 a.m.

Quebec budget 2022: $8.9 billion to ‘restore’ health system

The Coalition Avenir Québec government is pledging to invest $8.9 billion over the next five years to restore the province’s health system.

It plans to put more money into human resources, improving the province’s archaic medical data processing system that still uses fax machines, creating better information technology, and through improvements to hospital infrastructure.

Read our full story, by René Bruemmer.

9:30 a.m.

Quebec budget 2022: $20.5M for 15 clinics devoted to ‘long COVID’

Quebec will create specialized clinics to help people suffering long-term symptoms from COVID-19 infection.

Read our full story.

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9:30 a.m.

Convoy protest organizers James and Sandra Bauder appear in Ottawa court

Two organizers of the Ottawa “Freedom Convoy” demonstration, who have been promoting anti-vaccine mandate rallies across western Canada since leaving town, made their first appearance in an Ottawa court Tuesday.

James Bauder is the founder of Canada Unity, the organization that promoted the idea that a “memorandum of understanding” would allow the Senate and Governor General to join with Canada Unity to end vaccine passports and “discriminatory regulations and initiatives” and issue a “cease and desist order” to elected members of Parliament.

Read our full story.

9:30 a.m.

South Korea’s total COVID cases top 10 million as crematoria, funeral homes overwhelmed

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South Korea’s total coronavirus infections topped 10 million, or nearly 20% of its population, authorities said on Wednesday, as surging severe cases and deaths increasingly put a strain on crematories and funeral homes nationwide.

Read our full story.

9:30 a.m.

Shanghai denies lockdown rumors as daily COVID infections near 1,000

Authorities in the Chinese city of Shanghai have denied rumors of a city-wide lockdown after a sixth straight increase in daily asymptomatic coronavirus cases pushed its count to record levels despite a campaign of mass testing aimed at stifling the spread.

Read our full story.

9:15 a.m.

Quebec COVID guide: Vaccinations, testing, restrictions

Vaccinations

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Testing

8:30 a.m.

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