Quebec health authorities have confirmed that two cases of the B.1.351 variant, also known as the N501Y.V2 variant, which was discovered in South Africa, have been detected in Abitibi-Témiscamingue in western Quebec.
Quebec now has 11 cases of COVID-19 variants, the other eight were all identified as the United Kingdom variant.
Health officials reported 826 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday and 32 more deaths attributed to the virus — bringing the death toll to 10,078.
Officials say hospitalizations dropped by 29, to 940, and 145 people are in intensive care, a drop of 15. The province says it administered 2,816 doses of COVID-19 vaccine Monday, for a total of 262,594.
Premier François Legault held a COVID-19 briefing on Tuesday and said the province’s numbers are encouraging, but Quebecers have to remain vigilant — especially with the arrival of the new variants and the upcoming March break.
READ MORE: Canada to require negative COVID-19 test at land borders next week
Legault said the government has not excluded adding more measures for the first week of March, like zone colour code changes, road checkpoints to interfere with interregional travel, and changes to the curfew — which the premier said is proving to be working to limit the spread of the virus.
The premier added a call to the public to go get tested as soon as you feel your first symptom and to not wait two days, which he said is the average amount of time people wait with symptoms before getting tested.
Quebec’s opposition parties renew calls for COVID-19 public inquiry after 10,000 deaths
Opposition parties renewed their calls for a public inquiry into the government’s management of the pandemic after the province surpassed 10,000 COVID-19-related deaths over the weekend.
Liberal Leader Dominique Anglade said today Quebecers need to know why the province has so far accounted for nearly half of the country’s deaths attributed to the novel coronavirus.
Parti Québécois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon said today an inquiry is the only way to shed light on the tragedy, noting that Quebec is reporting 116 deaths per 100,000 residents, compared to 45 in neighbouring Ontario.
During Tuesday’s press conference Legault said he offered his sincerest condolences to the families of those who died.
–with files from the Canadian Press
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