Quebec is reporting 1,189 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday and two additional deaths attributable to the virus.
Since the start of the health crisis, the province has recorded 455,825 infections and 433,964 recoveries, bringing the number of active cases to 10,272.
Hospitalizations increased by seven in the last day with 20 new patients admitted and 13 discharged. Of the 226 pandemic-related patients in hospital, 62 are in intensive care.
Of the new infections reported on Monday, 671 were among people who were unvaccinated or less than two weeks removed from a COVID-19 vaccine, while 504 were among people having received two doses.
The latest health ministry data shows that those who are not vaccinated are 3.3 times more at risk of becoming infected with the virus and 15.2 times more at risk of being hospitalized than someone who is adequately vaccinated.
To date, more than 13.7 million doses of COVID vaccines have been administered in Quebec, including 19,746 in the last 24 hours.
The percentage of the population having received at least one dose stands at 82.1.
The government is continuing its efforts to vaccinate children between the ages of five and 11, as well as giving booster shots to those aged 70 and over, or those who received two doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine.
More than 180,000 kids in the targeted age group have received their first shot and another 94,543 have booked an appointment.
While Canada’s National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) has “strongly” recommended adults ages 50 and older be offered a COVID-19 vaccine booster shot, the province has yet to expand its offering.
Health-care workers are also calling on the government to allow those on the front lines with COVID-19 patients, to have access to a third dose.
Omicron monitoring
On Monday, health officials said no new cases of the Omicron variant had been detected in the province and there does not appear to be any community transmission.
The lone case, confirmed on Nov. 29, was from a traveller returning home to Quebec, from a trip to Nigeria.
In a news release, the Institut national de santé publique du Québec said other cases of COVID-19 in travellers, as well as their contacts, are being investigated to determine whether or not they are linked to the new variant.
The institute says it will continue to monitor the situation and adjust its screening for the variant in coming weeks.
The institute also says it’s also too early to say whether the Omicron variant might be more transmissible or more resistant to vaccines, making it difficult at this stage to provide an evidence-based assessment of the risk it poses.
Rapid testing for daycares
Meanwhile, Quebec is making rapid PCR tests available in daycares across the province as of Monday. The screening kits will be distributed by daycare providers to parents of children over the age of one who are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19.
Parents will then be able to perform the tests at home. In the event of a positive test, the result will have to be confirmed at an official COVID-19 screening centre.
Health officials say it’s an additional tool for preventing cases and outbreaks in daycare centres where children between the ages of 0 and five are unvaccinated.
The death toll linked to the virus in Quebec has now climbed to 11,589.