State of the pandemic | Green lights in Quebec, Ontario and Alberta

While hospitalizations linked to COVID-19 continued to decline on Tuesday in Quebec, a series of health measures were withdrawn in neighboring Canadian provinces, in Alberta and Ontario in particular.

Henri Ouellette-Vezina
The Press

The 14 additional deaths linked to the virus recorded Tuesday in Quebec bring the daily average of mortality associated with the disease to around 16. The trend is thus down by more than 25% over one week.

In the Quebec health network, there was a drop of seven hospitalizations compared to the previous day, or 86 admissions and 93 discharges. To date, 1,439 patients remain hospitalized due to COVID-19, 90 of whom are in intensive care, a decrease of four cases in 24 hours on this plan (10 entries, 14 exits).

Authorities reported 698 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the weekly average to 1,254, which also follows a strong downward trend over one week. However, it should be remembered that the limits imposed on screening have made the data related to infections much less representative for several weeks now.

Earlier on Saturday, Public Health nevertheless carried out 15,067 screening tests, a relatively stable figure compared to the average. The provincial positivity rate is currently 7.2%. The number of active outbreaks also fell sharply on Tuesday, from 684 to 633. So far, more than 98,300 rapid tests have been “self-reported” on the government platform, the vast majority of which, nearly 76,700, had a positive diagnosis of COVID-19.

With regard to vaccination, the Quebec campaign continues to slow down sharply. On Monday, just 11,080 additional doses of vaccine were administered, to which are added 127 doses given before February 28 which had not yet been officially counted. Of the total, more than 8800 were third doses, while approximately 1600 second doses and 375 first doses were administered.

Quebec currently vaccinates an average of 13,070 people per day, a figure that has been falling for several weeks. Since the start of the pandemic, more than 18.7 million doses have been received by Quebecers, including people vaccinated outside the province.

Relief in Ontario and Alberta

Several cafes in Toronto were packed Tuesday as Ontario lifted vaccine proof requirements and capacity limits in businesses, along with most other health measures. Wearing a mask is still mandatory, but businesses like movie theatres, restaurants and fitness centers no longer have to check the vaccination status of their customers.

Capacity limits still in effect have also been eliminated for places like nightclubs, sports amphitheaters and concert halls. There are also no longer any limits on the size of private gatherings, such as weddings.

As in Quebec, COVID-19-related hospitalizations and test positivity rates have fallen sharply in Ontario, although sewage data suggests cases could start to rise again.

Ontario reported 914 COVID-19 hospitalizations on Tuesday, up 65 from the previous day. There were 278 patients in intensive care, one less than Monday. There were also 16 additional deaths from the virus. In addition, 67 of the province’s long-term care homes reported an active outbreak, or nearly 11 per cent of facilities.

Alberta has officially lifted almost all of its COVID-19 health restrictions. Those changes came into effect on Tuesday, including the end of capacity limits and most mask-wearing rules. The province also ended all remaining school measures, screening of young people for sports and entertainment activities, all remaining restrictions on alcohol service in bars and restaurants, and mandatory telecommuting.

Wearing a mask indoors will still be required in high-risk settings and on public transport. The province began lifting public health measures two weeks ago when it canceled the vaccine passport. Premier Jason Kenney said the province will closely monitor COVID-19 indicators, but said declining indicators coupled with high vaccination rates have allowed changes to move forward.

With The Canadian Press