Quebec adds 85 new deaths related to COVID-19; hospitalizations down by 21
Quebec is reporting 85 new deaths related to COVID-19 on Tuesday as hospitalizations dropped again, with 21 fewer patients receiving care than 24 hours ago.
The total number of deaths in Quebec is now 12,936.
Hospitalizations reached a total of 3,278 after 272 people were admitted and 293 people were discharged since Monday.
Meanwhile, the number of people in intensive care remained the same on Tuesday with 263 patients in the ICU.
At a Tuesday afternoon news conference, Quebec Premier François Legault announced some public health measures will be lifted as of Monday, such as the reopening of indoor dining in restaurants at half-capacity.
The province says unvaccinated people are 5.7 times more likely to be hospitalized with COVID-19 and 11.6 times more likely to be sent to the ICU than vaccinated people based on the last four weeks of data.
Active cases in the province also dropped by 1,647 in the past day, for a total 45,436 cases.
The latest update from Quebec shows there were 2,977 new COVID-19 cases reported on Tuesday, however, that number is not a true reflection of the daily cases since PCR testing is not open to the general public in Quebec. Results from rapid antigen tests are also not included in provincial data.
Health-care workers analyzed 22,818 samples on Jan. 23.
Since the start of the pandemic, Quebec has reported 841,414 cases of the coronavirus, while 783,042 people have recovered.
VACCINATION CAMPAIGN
The province administered 86,488 new vaccine doses into people’s arms in the last 24 hours, for a total of 17,251,891 doses given in Quebec. An additional 269,266 doses were given to Quebecers outside of the province.
The vast majority of the shots given out in the last 24 hours (70,422 doses) were booster shots.
To date, health-care workers have administered 7,356,226 first doses (covering 90 per cent of the eligible population), 6,781,785 second doses (covering 83 per cent of the eligible population), and 3,313,198 third doses (covering 41 per cent of the eligible population).
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Death toll from Saturday's storm hits 10 across Ontario and Quebec
As the death toll related to the powerful storm that swept Ontario and Quebec on Saturday reached 10 on Monday, some of the hardest-hit communities were still working to take stock of the damage.

DEVELOPING | 'Too many children did not make it home': Anniversary of discovery at Canada's largest residential school
It's been a year since the announcement of the detection of unmarked graves at the site of what was once Canada's largest residential school – an announcement that for many Indigenous survivors was confirmation of what they already knew.
WHO says no urgent need for mass monkeypox vaccinations
The World Health Organization does not believe the monkeypox outbreak outside of Africa requires mass vaccinations as measures like good hygiene and safe sexual behavior will help control its spread, a senior official said on Monday.
Monkeypox fears could stigmatize LGBTQ2S+ community, expert says
A theory that the recent outbreak of monkeypox may be tied to sexual activity has put the gay community in an unfortunate position, having fought back against previous and continued stigma around HIV and AIDS, an LGBTQ2+ centre director says.
Hydro damage 'significantly worse' than the ice storm and tornadoes, Hydro Ottawa says
Hydro Ottawa says the damage from Saturday's storm is "simply beyond comprehension", and is "significantly worse" than the 1998 ice storm and the tornadoes that hit the capital three years ago.
Walk out at trade meeting when Russia spoke 'not one-off,' says trade minister
The United States and four other nations that walked out of an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation group meeting in Bangkok over the weekend underlined their support Monday for host nation Thailand, saying their protest was aimed solely at Russia because of its invasion of Ukraine.
Johnny Depp's severed finger story has flaws: surgeon
A hand surgeon testified Monday that Johnny Depp could not have lost the tip of his middle finger the way he told jurors it happened in his civil lawsuit against ex-wife Amber Heard.
Military members urged to contact Habitat for Humanity amid housing crisis
An email encouraging members of the Canadian Armed Forces to consider contacting Habitat for Humanity if they can't find affordable housing is casting a spotlight on a growing challenge facing many military personnel and their families.
Captured Russian soldier sentenced to life in Ukraine's 1st war crimes trial
A captured Russian soldier who pleaded guilty to killing a civilian was sentenced by a Ukrainian court Monday to life in prison -- the maximum -- amid signs the Kremlin may, in turn, put on trial some of the fighters who surrendered at Mariupol's steelworks.