COVID live updates: Quebec reports 2 deaths, jump in lab-confirmed cases

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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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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 pm I’ll have a video feed and live coverage.

10 a.m.

UK’s lockdown anniversary marked by another virus surges

From the Bloomberg news agency:

Two years ago, Prime Minister Boris Johnson locked down the UK, instructing people to stay at home and imposing sweeping restrictions in a desperate effort to slow the emerging 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 traveling again, and surveys show that the social distancing measures that came to define life during the pandemic are fast being discarded.

One major UK 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 defenses 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 about 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 UK has also moved to reduce the availability of costly COVID tests.

“I understand that the UK 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 UK 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 emerging 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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