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

• On Wednesday, Quebec reported 2,730people in hospital (a decrease of 122 from the previous day), including 204 in intensive care (a decrease of 14fromthe previous day).
• The province reported 3,816new cases of COVID-19 and50deaths.
• Since the start of the pandemic, there have been 868,437confirmed cases and 13,336people have died.
• The province also reported Monday a total of17,789,939 doses of COVID-19 vaccines administered, including49,444in the last 24 hours.
• 90 per cent of the eligible population in the province (agedfive and up) have received one dose of the vaccine;84 per cent have received two doses, and 45per cent have received three doses.

The new cases are those reported to the Quebec government only. They are believed to be an underrepresentation of the virus's spread, given the limited availability of PCR tests and use of home testing kits.

Public health officials in Quebec are warningthat the relaxing of COVID-19 restrictions in recent weeks may lead to an increase in hospitalizations in February,but they admit it's difficultto say with certainty.

"We shouldn't worry too much but it's quite likely that the lifting ofmeasures will lead to more contagion, with the risk in particular of seeing more hospitalizations," said the interim director of public health, Dr. Luc Boileau, at a news conference Wednesday.

Hospitalizations in Quebec havesteadily declinedover the last couple of weeks, and the latest projections from Quebec's Institute of Public Health suggest that decline could continue, but that the relaxing of public health measures may slow the decline or cause an increase in cases in the weeks to come.

Boileausaid much of what happens will depend on the behaviour of Quebecers.He said social distancing, masking, and getting vaccinated remain important.

Late in the day, Boileau sent out a release clarifying the rules for mask-wearing in children's sports. Some parents have complained that children as young as three are being told to mask while taking skating or other lessons.

The province says masks must be worn at all times for all ages if a sport is taking place in a school or as an extracurricular activity.

However, if the sport is taking place in a public space, such as a municipalfacility, children under the age of 10 are not required to wear a mask.

Convoy heading to Quebec City

Quebec City is preparing for possible demonstrations against COVID-19 restrictions this weekend just as annual winter festivities get underway.

Groups on social media are planning protests similar to the ones held over the weekend in Ottawa, where some protesters continue to occupy the country's capital, demanding an end to COVID-19 vaccine mandates and otherpublic healthrestrictions.

The mayor of Quebec City said he's hoping the protesters don't cause too much of a disruption, asCarnaval, the winter festival, gets underway, bringing families to the city.

The festivitiestake place close to the National Assembly, which is also one of the sites planned for the rally.

Mlanie Raymond, the general director of Carnaval,said in a statement thatorganizers are watching the situation closely.

"It would obviously be deplorable ifCarnaval, which is already unfolding inavery difficult context ...becomes a collateral victim of the demonstrations," she said.

Quebec City police say they've been in contact with some of the protest organizersand will release details on their contingency plan later this week.

Tax on unvaccinated scrapped

PremierFranois Legaultis scrapping a proposed tax on unvaccinated Quebecers,now saying it is more important to build bridges and extend a hand to people who refuse to get vaccinated.

Legault also announced that sports will be allowed to resume for all ages Feb. 14, as long as group sizes are limited to25 people. Gyms and spas will also be allowed to reopen thenbut only at 50 per cent capacity.

Several gyms across Quebec protested the continuedclosuresby illegally opening their doors last Sunday.

Cinemas and theatres are scheduled to reopen this coming Monday, Feb. 7, with certain capacity restrictions.

Youppi!joins vaccination efforts

The Montreal Canadiens announced Tuesday they'll be partnering with public health officials to encourage children aged fiveto 17 to get vaccinated.

In a news release, the teamsaid any children in that age group who come to get vaccinated at the Palais des Congrsthis weekend between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.will receive a Habs-themed gift.

All children are eligible, as long as supplies last,whether or not they have an appointment.

Habs mascot Youppi! will also be on handto show support for the vaccination campaign, along with Cosmo, the mascot for the Laval Rocket.

47,000 Quebec students out of school due to COVID

The Quebec government has begun publishing updates twice a week on the number of students and teachers absent from school due to COVID-19.

The data released Tuesday was collected last Friday.That day 47,702 elementary and high school students were absent from class due to COVID.

Of those, just over 20,000 had a positive test result, while just over 27,000 were noted as being absent due to COVIDbut without a positive test result.

There were also 4,538 school staff members absent due to COVID of those, 2,362 were teachersand 1,300 of those teachers continued to teach online while not present at school due to COVID.

The data also noted that two schools were closed or partially closed, and 118 classrooms were closed and doing online learning instead.

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