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

• Quebec reported 9,397new cases ofCOVID-19 on Thursday and six new deaths.
• Since the start of the pandemic, there have been511,095confirmed cases and11,658 people have died.
• There are 473people in hospital (an increase of 28),including 91 in intensive care (an increase of three).
• The province has administered 14,619,762doses ofCOVID-19 vaccines, including 89,924in the last 24 hours.
• 89per cent of the eligible population in the province (ages five and up) hasreceived one dose of vaccine, 81per cent hasreceived two doses, and 11 per cent have received boosters.

Quebec'sHealth Ministry does not publish the number of vaccines administered on weekends and public holidays. Itwill not be publishing daily COVID data on Dec. 24, 25, and 26, as well as Dec. 31, Jan. 1 and 2.

Montreal's director of public health saysit's now a critical time for the city's health network as the holidays approach and case numbers continue to grow exponentially.

Dr. Mylne Drouinprovided an update of the COVID-19 situation in the city on Thursday alongsideSonia Blanger, who runs the health authority for the city's downtown area, the CIUSSS du Centre-Sud-de-l'le-de-Montral.

Blanger noted hospitalizations in Montreal have jumped by over 60 per cent, with most patients infected with the Delta variant.

There were over 3,600 new COVID-19 cases reported in the city Wednesday,with theOmicron variant accounting for90 per centof them.

Omicron is particularly hitting young Montrealers aged 18-44, Drouin said. The age group accounts for 60 per cent of the cases.

The positivity rate in Montreal is hovering around 18-20 per cent, meaning one in five people who do receive a PCR test are positive.

Some testing centres in the Montreal region reported very high volumes of people attempting to get tested Wednesday.

In the east end of the city, people reportedly waited over four hours at the Chauveautesting centre in MercierHochelaga-Maisonneuve. Some locations, including theOlympic Stadium site, are switching to appointment-onlytesting, due to the demand.

The city's public transit service, theSocit de transport de Montral(STM),is stepping up its measures to fight COVID-19.

Bus drivers will once again be required to wear masks. More inspectors will be out enforcing public health measures. A maximum of two passengers will be allowed in adapted transit vehicles, and singers as well as buskers playing wind instruments will no longer be allowed to perform in Metro stations.

WATCH: What Quebecers need to know about rapid tests:

Your questions answered about rapid tests in Quebec

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Rapid tests are becoming a key tool for Quebecers as COVID-19 cases skyrocket. Here are answers to the questions asked by the CBC Montreal audience.

Quebec City officials warn of potential hospital breaks

Health officials in Quebec City and theChaudire-Appalaches to its south also urged residents to keep their holiday gatherings small.

In a news conference Thursday, regional health officials warned of possible cuts to hospital services in the new year if COVID-19 case numbers continue to rise at their current rate.

"As a health professional on the frontlines of intensive care for the past 21 months, I have never felt the system was so fragile in the face of the demand to come," said Dr. Mathieu Simon, pulmonologist and head of the ICU at theInstitutuniversitaire de cardiologie et de pneumologie de Qubec.

The two regionsbothreported record numbers of COVID-19 cases Thursday with 671 and 566 new cases respectively.

The Chaudire-Appalaches is once again one of the regions hardest hit by the pandemic, with a 15 per cent positivity rate and 696 active cases per 100,000 residents.

Hospitalizations in both regions are also on the rise. Quebec City saw 16 COVID-19 patients in hospital Thursday triple the number of patients in hospital at the start of the week.

The vast majority of those patients, the health authority says, are over 60 and unvaccinated.

New vaccination site in Montreal

A new vaccination site is opening at Montreal's Jewish General Hospital, offering a third dose of the Pfizer vaccine by appointment to those who are eligible.

The site will be open every day, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. starting Sunday, Dec. 26. Appointments can be made through the provincial website or by calling: 514-644-4545.

Additionally, two other vaccination sites, one at Decarie Square and the other at 7101 Parc Avenue, will be offering the Moderna vaccine without appointment while supplies last.

New restrictions as of Dec. 26

Premier Franois Legaultannounced new restrictions Wednesday on indoor gatheringsas of Dec. 26, in an effort to slow the spread of the highly transmissible Omicron variant and limit hospital admissions.

Indoor gatherings in the province will be limited to six people or two family bubbles.

Officials stopped short of announcing a curfew, which sources told Radio-Canada was discussed in a meeting yesterday evening but eventually dropped.

Businesses and restaurants will remain open and people can still hold indoor gatherings of up to 10 people until the 26th.

Quebec reported more than6,000 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, the highest number since the beginning of the pandemic. Legault said that number is up to 9,000 for the cases reported in the past 24 hours.

Health authorities are asking Quebecers to fill out theCOVID-19 symptom self assessment formonline and only head to a testing centre ifshowing symptoms.

WATCH | Legaulturges people to get vaccinated as soon as possible:

Quebec's premier sends a message to the unvaccinated

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Franois Legault tells unvaccinated Quebecers that they are putting a strain on the health-care system and asks them to get shots or stay home.

New projections of Omicron impact

Quebec's public health research institute, the INSPQ, has releasednew projections of the potential impact of the Omicron variant in Quebec.

The best-case scenario shows there could be a peak of about 150 hospitalizations per day by January, with daily cases rising above 6,000 in December, which already happened today.

In a more pessimistic scenario if Omicron causes severe illness, is highly transmissible, easily evades vaccination immunity and the administration of third doses continues to go slowly the INSPQ warned of an "exponential increase" in hospitalizations, peaking in January with more than 250 admissions per day.

WATCH | Drone visuals show empty schools and parks in Shawinigan and Trois-Rivires, Que., as new restrictions are set to begin.

Public spaces in parts of Quebec quiet as Omicron cases rise

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Drone visuals show empty schools and parks in Shawinigan and Trois-Rivires, Que., as new COVID-19 restrictions are set to begin.

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