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

• Quebec reported 545new cases ofCOVID-19 on Tuesday and six new deaths.
• Since the start of the pandemic, there have been 430,940confirmed cases and 11,528people have died.
• There are 219people in hospital (a decrease of six),including 45in intensive care (a decrease of three).
• The province has administered 13,339,503doses of theCOVID-19 vaccine, including 9,406in the past 24 hours.
• 91per cent of the eligible population in the province (age 12 and up) hasreceived one dose of vaccine, and 87per cent hasreceived two doses.

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

The Quebec government will allow people aged 70 and over to book an appointment for their third COVID-19 vaccine dose as of Nov. 16.

The province's immunization committee, the CIQ, has recommended that Quebecers in that age group be offereda third dose, in order to boost their immunity against the virus.

The appointments will roll out gradually, per age groups over 70. Six months have to have passed since the person's last COVID-19 vaccine dose in order for them to be eligible.

People who have had two doses of Astra Zeneca will also soon beeligible to make an appointment for a third dose, this time of an mRNA vaccine,said Health Minister Christian Dubat a news conference Tuesday.

The Quebec government will also soon administer third doses of the vaccines to seniors living in long-term care homes and private seniors' residences, Dubsaid.

Nurses fed up with decrees

Quebec nurses say they are fed up with ministerial decrees that modify their working conditions, saying the measures do nothing to help combat the shortage of workers in the health-care system.

Five nurses' unions have come together to call on the government to drop the emergency decrees. They say 155 orders have been imposed during the pandemic, most of which directly impact nurses' jobs with little consultation with unions.

Nathalie Levesque, president of theFdration interprofessionnelle de la sant du Qubec (FIQ), says the decrees changed working conditions with no regard to staffers' expertise or their personal lives.

U.S. land border reopen to fully-vaccinated Canadians

The land border with the United States has reopenedto fully vaccinated Canadian travellers after being closed for non-essential travel since March 2020.

On Nov. 8, for the first time in 19 months, the U.S. is set to welcome backtravellers by land and passenger ferry as long as they're fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)confirmed travellers entering by land will not have to show proof of a negative COVID-19 test, butsaid travellers should be prepared to verbally attest to their vaccination status, and present their vaccination documentation upon request.

Children under 18 years of age will be exempt from the vaccination requirement.

Provincial civil servants to work 2 days a week at office

Treasury Board President Sonia LeBel says about half of Quebec's civil servants will be expected to return to the office two days a week by Jan. 14, 2022. The rest will be expected to start showing up in personby the end of January.

LeBel says bringing government workers back gradually will allow offices to adapt to public health measures.

Most public servants have been working from home since the beginning of the pandemic, in March 2020. A return to work has been proposed and then delayed several times.

Still, LeBel has no plan to bring back all workers full time to government offices.

"Working from home for employees whose jobs are well-suited for this is here to stay," LeBel said, in a statement.

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