COVID live updates: Quebec reports 30 more deaths as hospitalizations drop

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Updated throughout the day on Tuesday, Feb. 22. Questions/comments: [email protected]

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top updates

11:15 a.m.

Chart: Current situation vs. one year ago

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11:15 a.m.

Chart: Hospitalizations – vaccinated vs. unvaccinated

11:15 a.m.

Charts: Quebec cases, deaths

11:15 a.m.

Charts: Quebec’s vaccination campaign

11:05 a.m.

Quebec reports 30 more deaths as hospitalizations drop

Quebec has recorded 1,438 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.

In addition, 30 new deaths were reported, bringing the cumulative total to 13,886.

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

10:45 a.m.

Quebec dropping classroom mask requirements after spring break

The Legault government will announce that beginning March 7 it will no longer be necessary for students to wear face masks while in the province’s primary and secondary school classrooms, although masks will remain mandatory in common areas.

Read our full story.

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10:05 a.m.

Tamara Lich, major organizer of anti-vaccine mandate protests in Ottawa, denied bail

Tamara Lich, one of the leading organizers behind protests against COVID-19 restrictions and the Liberal government near Parliament Hill, has been denied bail.

An Ontario court judge issued the decision in Ottawa this morning, saying she believed there was a substantial likelihood Lich would reoffend if released.

Ontario Court Justice Julie Bourgeois said in the decision that the effect on the community from the actions of the convoy was immense and that she felt Lich was obstinate and disingenuous in her responses to the court during her bail hearing on Saturday.

“I cannot be reassured that if I release you into the community that you will not reoffend,” Bourgeois said.

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“Your detention is necessary for the protection and safety of the public.”

Lich appeared in court via a video link, rather than in person.

A separate bail hearing is scheduled this morning for fellow protest organizer Patrick King.

Lich was arrested last Thursday and charged with counseling to commit mischief and promised during a bail hearing on Saturday to give up her advocacy of the protest and return to Alberta.

Bourgeois reserved her bail decision on Lich until today.

In addition to holding Lich in custody, Bourgeois ordered Lich to have no contact with King, and other convoy organizers Benjamin Dichter, Christopher Barber and Daniel Bulford.

Barber was arrested the same day as Lich and released on bail on Saturday.

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King, 44, was arrested on Friday and faces charges of mischief, counseling to commit mischief, counseling to commit the offense of disobeying a court order and counseling to obstruct police.

10 a.m.

House of Commons passes Emergencies Act motion after fractious debate

The House of Commons has passed a motion to approve extraordinary, time-limited measures in the Emergencies Act, which Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invoked last week in a bid to end blockades in Ottawa and at several border crossings.

Read our full story.

10 a.m.

Montreal police ‘preparing for any eventuality’ if convoy protests spread

Montreal police are gearing up for the possibility that the Ottawa convoy protest could spread here.

Read our full story, by T’Cha Dunlevy.

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10 a.m.

How Canada’s political extremists took advantage of COVID-19

Canada’s violent political extremists eagerly welcomed COVID-19 as a gift, newly released documents show: a handy “opportunity to promote disinformation” and a recruiting tool, wrapped up in the guise of protecting “freedom.”

Read our full story.

10 a.m.

Opinion: The truckers are gone, but we still need to deal with the issues

“Misinformation about vaccines, masks and other public health measures will keep spreading, convoy or not. No Emergencies Act can force social media platforms to take responsibility for the lies they spread, even when it leads to preventable deaths, or weakens democracies around the globe.”

Read Emilie Nicolas’s latest column.

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10 a.m.

Opinion: What lessons can we learn from the convoy protests?

“A tense moment in modern Canadian and Quebec history may have reached a relatively peaceful denouement, but this chapter is far from over. Those who participated in the so-called Freedom Convoy may be gone, but many of them are stationed nearby, poised to make a comeback if or when police let down their guard.”

Read Allison Hanes’ latest column.

9:15 a.m.

Quebec COVID guide: Vaccinations, vaccine passports, testing, restrictions

vaccinations

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Vaccine passport

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testing

Pandemic restrictions

8:30 a.m.

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