COVID live updates: Quebec reports 31 new deaths as hospitalizations, ICU admissions fall

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Updated throughout the day on Wednesday, Feb. 9. Questions/comments: [email protected]

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11:05 a.m.

Quebec reports 31 new deaths as hospitalizations, ICU admissions fall

(This item is being updated)

Quebec has recorded 3,361 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, 31 new deaths were reported, bringing the cumulative total to 13,582.

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

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10:15 a.m.

Timeline: Quebec lays out five-week reopening, with most restrictions lifted as of March 14

10 a.m.

‘We’re going to have our work cut out’: Businesses welcome reopening plan

News of Quebec’s gradual reopening brought joy to several corners of the Montreal business community — and a warning from entrepreneurs that the government will need to help hard-hit sectors overcome mounting debts.

Read our full story, by Frédéric Tomesco.

9:55 a.m.

A deep dive into the organizers of the Ottawa protest

PressProgress, a non-profit news organization, has documented the history of some of the organizers of the protest in Ottawa.

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9:55 a.m.

Canadian Anti-Hate Network urges reporters to be careful at Ottawa pandemic protest

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9:45 a.m.

Driver vaccine mandates haven’t snarled cross-border flow of goods, top trucking firm says

Via the Financial Post:

The CEO of one of North America’s top trucking firms brushed off concerns about vaccine mandates for drivers, just as anti-mandate protests continued across the country and cut off a critical trade crossing in Ontario.

Alain Bédard, chief executive of Montreal-based TFI International Inc., said the majority of his drivers in Canada are already vaccinated, and the few that aren’t kept busy with domestic routes that don’t require crossing the border.

“For sure, there’s some small carriers in Canada that are having an issue,” Bédard said on a call with financial analysts on Feb. 8. “But at TFI, it is not an issue at all.”

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In mid-January, the federal government canceled an exemption that had previously allowed unvaccinated truckers to re-enter Canada without quarantining, riling some in an industry that has struggled for years to recruit an adequate number of drivers.

That frustration is what initially ignited the Freedom Convoy of trucks that descended on Ottawa before inspiring similar demonstrations in other cities this month. But those convoys and their organizers were quickly disavowed by industry leaders as the protest evolved beyond the vaccine mandate to take aim more broadly at COVID-19 restrictions.

Bédard said TFI saw the mandates coming and tried to convince drivers to get a shot with the message: “You’re free. You do whatever you want. OK, we get that. But guys, I mean, to cross the border, we know at one point it’s going to be an issue.”

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9:30 a.m.

Opinion: Trucker protest — some warnings signs about the ‘fringe’ from the US

“While it is true that not all in the trucker convoy can be placed neatly on the political fringes, it is also true that ideological unity is not necessary for illiberal and right-wing actors to seize momentum from a movement.

“In the context of COVID alone, far-right movements have been sustained, and in some cases propelled into the mainstream, by co-opting vaccine anxiety and pandemic frustration.”

Read the full opinion piece by Gabriel Paxton.

9:30 a.m.

Court denies injunction to unvaccinated Quebec caregivers seeking access to residents

A Quebec court has rebuffed unvaccinated caregivers who were hoping to obtain an injunction allowing them to enter nursing homes without showing proof of vaccination.

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Read our full story.

9:30 a.m.

West Island vaccination sites accepting walk-ins while doses last

Some COVID-19 vaccination sites operated by the West Island health authority are now accepting walk-ins.

Read our full story, by John Meagher.

9:30 a.m.

Ontario to roll out free COVID-19 rapid antigen tests at grocery stores, pharmacies

The Ontario government will distribute free COVID-19 rapid antigen tests at grocery stores, pharmacies and other settings.

Read our full story.

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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