COVID-19 live updates: Quebec reports 11 deaths as new cases rise to 805

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Updated throughout the day on Monday, Feb. 22. Questions/comments: ariga@postmedia.com

Top updates

11:40 a.m.

Grief, loss, change: Montreal-area business owner struggles to cope with pandemic

For a decade, Kristyne Tardiff poured her heart and soul into a business on Montreal’s South Shore. In a fraction of that time, the coronavirus ripped it out from under her.

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Read our full story, by Katelyn Thomas.

11:40 a.m.

Quebec artists ‘implore’ Legault to reopen concert halls and theatres

Quebec artists, creators and musicians have renewed their calls to be allowed to return to performing after Health Ministry documents made public Friday show the Legault government has been receiving recommendations since last September that concert halls and theatres be reopened.

Read our full story.

11:40 a.m.

Pandemic making Quebecers rethink their retirement: poll

Quebecers are rethinking their plans for retirement amid the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a poll by Polara for IG Wealth Management.

Read our full story.

11:35 a.m.

Quebec City police break up illegal gathering

Quebec City police say they broke up an illegal gathering on Saturday night.

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Responding to a complaint, police found 13 people in their 20s gathered in a home on Louis-XIV Blvd. at about 9:15 p.m., the force said in a statement.

Those gathered were all given tickets, though the department did not specify the amounts.

People could face fines of between $1,000 and $6,000 for taking part in illegal gatherings.

11:25 a.m.

Update on Quebec’s vaccination campaign

11:15 a.m.

Number of variant cases rising in Quebec

The number of variant cases is on the rise as Quebec ramps up testing for them.

There are now 415 presumptive variant cases, up from 329 yesterday.

11:10 a.m.

Updated charts: Quebec cases, deaths

11:05 a.m.

Quebec reports 11 deaths as new cases rise slightly to 805

Quebec has recorded 805 new cases of COVID-19, the provincial government announced this morning.

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That’s the highest number of cases in five days.

In addition, 11 new deaths were reported, including two over the previous 24 hours.

The other nine deaths occurred between Feb. 15 and 20.

Some other key statistics from Quebec’s latest COVID-19 update, published this morning:

Since the beginning of the pandemic, Quebec has reported 282,927 cases and 10,318 deaths linked to COVID-19. A total of 264,497 people who have contracted the disease have since recovered.

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10:50 a.m.

Can’t find details on Quebec’s vaccine rollout? You’re not alone

Days before Quebec launches the second phase of the largest and most important vaccination campaign in its history, there remains a dearth of information about when and how seniors can make an appointment to be inoculated against COVID-19.

Read our full story, by Katherine Wilton.

10:30 a.m.

Quebec lost almost 210,000 jobs in 2020

The pandemic took a significant bite out of Quebec’s job market last year.

A total of 208,500 jobs were lost in 2020, which corresponds to a drop in employment of nearly five per cent compared to 2019, according to a report published this morning by the Institut de la statistique du Québec.

The decline in employment wiped out gains experience in the two previous years.

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It was the largest drop since 1976, the first year the institute started keeping such statistics.

Women and young people suffered more job losses, the institute said.

10 a.m.

Canada to receive record 640K vaccine doses this week with Pfizer, Moderna deliveries

Canada is poised to receive a record number of COVID-19 vaccine doses this week thanks to scheduled deliveries from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, as the country looks to speed up its vaccination efforts.

Read our full story.

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9:55 a.m.

Montreal police handed out 450 pandemic tickets last week

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9:50 a.m.

Stricter public health measures now in effect at Canadian borders, airports

A mandatory three-day hotel quarantine for most travellers landing at Canadian airports comes into effect today, along with a suite of measures meant to prevent contagious COVID-19 variants from entering the country.

Read our full story.

9:25 a.m.

Travellers rush home to beat mandatory hotel quarantine requirement

Several travellers interviewed by the Montreal Gazette on Sunday cited the federal government’s new travel restrictions as the main factor behind their decision to alter their flight plans — sometimes with great anguish.

Read our full story, by Frédéric Tomesco.

9:25 a.m.

Air travellers find a loophole to skirt COVID-19 hotel rule

Travellers abroad flying home to Canada have found a loophole around having to mandatory quarantine in a Covid hotel.

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Read our full story.

9:25 a.m.

Quebec actress dies while waiting for surgery delayed by COVID-19

Quebec actress Rosine Chouinard-Chauveau, 28, died Thursday from an unspecified health problem while she was waited to have surgery for the issue. The surgery had been delayed, like so many others, because resources in the health sector have been diverted to deal with COVID-19 patients.

Read our full story.

9:25 a.m.

COVID sickness dropped 95.8% after both Pfizer shots, Israel reports

The risk of illness from COVID-19 dropped 95.8% among people who received both shots of Pfizer’s vaccine, Israel’s Health Ministry says.

Read our full story.

9:25 a.m.

Here’s how you’ll be able to get COVID-19 vaccinations in Montreal

As Quebec prepares to vaccinate the general population against COVID-19, starting with seniors 80 and over who live in the community, local health authorities are setting up mass vaccination sites across Montreal.

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Read our full story, by Katherine Wilton.

9:15 a.m.

Here’s where Montrealers can get tested today

Montrealers can be screened at test centres across the island.

You can check screening clinic wait times here.

8:45 a.m.

The situation across Canada

This was the situation across Canada as of last night, according to the Canada COVID-19 Situational Awareness Dashboard.

8:30 a.m.

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ariga@postmedia.com

Read my previous live blogs here.