COVID-19 in Quebec: What you need to know Friday

• Quebec reported 1,037new cases ofCOVID-19 on Friday and no newdeaths.
• Since the start of the pandemic, there have been 444,585 confirmed cases and 11,571people have died.
• There are 206people in hospital (a decrease of four), including 43in intensive care (a decrease of two).
• As of Friday, the province has administered 13,521,416 doses of theCOVID-19 vaccine.
• 84 per cent of the eligible population in the province (age five and up) hasreceived one dose of vaccine, and 81per cent hasreceived two doses.

Note: Quebec's vaccination rate has been adjusted to include five- to 11-year-olds, causing the overall percentage to drop. Vaccinations for the group began on Wednesday.

Quebec'sHealth Ministry does not publish the number of vaccines administered on weekends and public holidays.

Canada is banning the entry offoreign nationals who have visited a group of seven southern African countries in the last 14 days in reaction to news of anew, potentially more transmissible coronavirusvariant first detected in South Africa.

Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos announced Friday that the federal government will impose five measures in an effort to limit the spread of the newB.1.1.529 variant, which the World Health Organizationdeclaredas a variant of concernand namedomicron.

Canadians and foreign nationals whoarrived in Canada in the last 14 days from the countries of concern which includeSouth Africa, Mozambique, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Lesotho and Eswatini will have to quarantine, pending negative COVID-19 tests.

Those with a right of entry into Canada, like citizens or permanent residents,coming back from the region will have to do the same.

There are currently no direct flights from the affected countries to Canada, but Duclos says Canadians transiting through another country from the region, on their way back home, will need to test negative in the country of transit before heading home.

Ottawa is also issuing a travel advisory strongly discouraging Canadians from travelling to southern Africa.

Earlier this afternoon,opposition parties and provincial premiers, including Franois Legault,called for strict border measures to prevent cases of the variant from being imported into Canada.

Aslew of nations have also moved to stop air travel from southern Africa.

Quebec cases highest since May

Quebec reported 1,037 new daily cases of COVID-19 on Friday, the first time that number has surpassed 1,000 since May, but hospitalizations have remained stable.

Legaultsays that is because of the province's strong vaccination coverage.

"We must remain prudent," he told reporters in Montreal. "Yes, we have [more than]1,000 cases but we have 200 hospitalizations, which is four or five times less than many countries in Europe and the United States.

"Our hospitalizations, thanks to vaccination, remain relatively low, but it will be important to continue with the vaccination," he said, referring to children age five to 11.

Vaccinations for kids 5 to 11 in full swing

About a quarter of the children in Quebec agefive- to 11-years-oldhave COVID-19 vaccination appointments booked, according to the province'sHealth Ministry.

The government said Friday that 172,600 appointments had been made thus far, with 15,603 first doses given to children aged between five and 11. Quebecis hoping to give one dose to each eligible child by Christmas.

"They are brave. I am proud of them, really," Premier Franois Legault tweeted on Thursday. "I also want to thank their parents and the vaccination teams."

As of next week, vaccines will be administered in schools as well, to children whose parents have signed consent forms.

WATCH | Quebec's vaccine program for children explained:

Quebecs COVID-19 vaccination program for children explained

3 years ago

Duration 2:26

Quebec children age five to 11 can now get their shots. The premier hopes parents will get their kids vaccinated, but he doesn't want to pressure them.

Under-5 vaccinations and herd immunity

For those under the age of five,Canada's chief public health officer Theresa Tam said vaccinations could potentially start as early as the new year.

Speaking to Radio-Canada, Tam said that clinical trials are currently underway for children aged six months to five years old.She said she hopes to see theresults of the those trialsby the end of the year.

As one of the last remaining portions of the population to get vaccinated, kids will play an important role in ending the pandemic, health experts say.

Earlier in the pandemic, the threshold for achieving herd immunity suggested by some was about 70 per cent. But more recently, health experts say that threshold should be higher because of the highly contagious delta variant.

"With the original COVID strain, if we were at 80 or 85 per cent, we would probably have very, very low transmission and not have to worry," said Dr. Tehseen Ladha, a pediatrician and assistant professor of pediatrics at University of Alberta in Edmonton.

"But the fact that we're here now with delta, which is so much more transmissible, means that we need a herd immunity of closer to 90 per cent, 95 per cent."

New guidance on cloth masks

The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) has updated its guidelines on masks.

"In general, while non-medical masks can help prevent the spread of COVID-19, medical masks and respirators provide better protection," the PHACsaid on its COVID-19 mask information webpage.

The agency said in an email to CBC News that the changewas "based on the latest scientific evidence on SARS-CoV-2 virus variants of concern, increased understanding of the impacts of vaccination and immunity in the population, and new data available on mask types and their effectiveness."

Experts say this shift in messaging reflects a growing body of evidence suggesting that COVID-19 is largely spread through aerosols (tiny particles that can hang in the air), and not just through respiratory droplets (larger particles) transmitted by close contact with an infected person.

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