COVID-19 in Quebec: What you need to know this weekend

• On Sunday, Quebec reported1,456people in hospital (a decreaseof 23 from the previous day), including 98in intensive care (adecrease of twofromthe previous day).
• The province reported 1,036new cases of COVID-19 and fivedeaths.
• Since the start of the pandemic, there have been 921,032confirmed cases, and 13,974 people have died.
• The province also reported Friday a total of18,614,732doses of COVID-19 vaccines administered, including15,120in the last 24 hours.
• 91 per cent of the eligible population in the province (agedfive and up) have received one dose of the vaccine;86 per cent have received two doses, and 51per cent have received three doses.

Sports tournaments will be allowed to resume in Quebec, bars will be allowed to reopen, and working from home will no longer be mandatory, all as of Monday, as the province moves into the next phase of its plan to lift most COVID-19 restrictions by mid-March.

Bars, which have been closed since Dec. 20, will have to operate at 50 per cent capacity, with last call for food and alcohol at midnight and a closing time of 1 a.m. Customers must remain seated, with a maximum of 10 people per table, or the residents of three households. Dancing and karaoke will remain banneduntil March 14.

As well, venues that accommodate 10,000 spectators or fewer will no longer have any capacity limits as of Monday. Capacity limits will also be lifted for places of worship and funerals.

Working remotely for jobs that could be done from home will no longer be mandatory as of Monday.

As well, Quebec's workplace health and safety board (CNESST) says masks willno longer be required in the workplace, provided there arephysical barriers between people or a distance of two metres can be kept between them. Masks must still be worn in common areas.

Health Canada approves Quebec-made vaccine

Health Canada has approved Canada's first homegrown vaccine against COVID-19.

It was developed by Medicago, a pharmaceutical company based in Quebec City, and theBritish-American vaccine giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK)

Health Canada says the vaccine, under the name Covifenz,can be used in adults age18-64. It comes on the heels of Health Canada'sapproval of the Novavax shotlast week.

It is the sixthCOVID-19 vaccine approved for use in the country, and a medicalofficer for Medicago has said that it is the first plant-based vaccine ever approved for human use.

Omicron wave slows across Quebec, Montreal

Quebec and Montreal public health officials say the Omicron wave is slowing, withindicators like hospitalizations and the number of students absent fromschoolshowing infections are on a downward trend.

Officials say the province now estimates three million Quebecers likely caught the Omicron variant in the fifth wave, with aboutone million of those infections seen in Montrealers.

"Things are heading in the right direction," said Quebec'sinterim director of public healthDr. Luc Boileau."But this wave is not over," he added, urging people to remain cautious as Quebec continues to ease restrictions.

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