After a bump in Quebec COVID-19 deaths on Tuesday, Wednesday's numbers dropped down to more average recent levels, though the province is still seeing dozens of deaths per day.
In the last 24 hours, 24 people have died from the virus.
Total hospitalizations, however, dropped below 2,000, with another net decrease of 57 people getting hospital care. There are now a total of 1,995 hospitalizations in the province for the virus.
Many people are still being admitted to hospital -- 130 in the last day -- but a greater number are being discharged, with 187 leaving the hospital since yesterday.
There was a decrease of three in the total number of ICU patients, which is currently at 129. In the last day, 13 people were newly admitted to ICUs and 16 left.
Official testing numbers show 2,328 new infections, but those numbers don't reflect the true total since PCR tests are limited to a small group of Quebecers with high vulnerability.
Quebecers also reported 518 new infections after at-home tests yesterday, though those voluntary reports also don't reflect the true total.
The unvaccinated still make up a disproportionate number of those hospitalized for COVID-19 in Quebec -- about a third of those newly hospitalized are people with no vaccine or just one dose, whereas this group makes up only about 11 per cent of the broader public.
The difference is even starker in the ICU, where people with less than two doses have accounted for more than half of intensive care patients in the last 28 days.
In the last day, 15 children under five have been newly admitted to hospital with COVID-19, two of whom are in the ICU. This group is not eligible to be vaccinated.
There were a total of 25,055 vaccine doses given out in the last 24 hours, about half of which were boosters. Nearly half, 49 per cent, of Quebec's population now has a booster.
The least-vaccinated age group, children five to 11, have crept up about two percentage points in the last month, with 64 per cent of that group now having at least a first dose. Only 37 per cent of that group have two doses.
Because the pace of vaccination has slowed recently, Quebec is shutting down the Palais des Congrès vaccination mega-site, it announced Wednesday. It will stay open only until Feb. 24.
"At this stage of the vaccination campaign, when 84 per cent of Montrealers are adequately vaccinated, we intend to rely on local [sites] in order to facilitate access to vaccination and reach people who have still not decided to act," wrote Montreal health authorities in a news release Wednesday.
They are, however, opening a new, drop-in vaccination clinic fairly close to the Palais des Congrès as of March 1. It'll be at 955 de Maisonneuve Blvd. East, near Berri-UQAM, the busiest station in the metro network.
"The new Berri Centre-Sud vaccination site will have a daily vaccination capacity of 500 doses," they wrote. "Vaccination will be offered with and without an appointment, seven days a week, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m."
Canada found itself under the spotlight on Wednesday as the head of the NATO military alliance said he expects Canada to fulfil its commitment to other members and increase its defence spending to meet the needs of an increasingly dangerous world.
A mother of three children is speaking out after spending a night on the floor of Toronto Pearson Airport with her young kids in a nightmare weekend of travel.
Through the use of MRI technology and spearheaded by researchers at Western University, the cause of long COVID symptoms have been identified for the first time.
Recent data shows more than half of all flights from some of Canada's major airports are being cancelled or delayed, as frustrations for travellers mount due in part to increased summer travel and not enough airport staff.
A Nexus card is supposed to help put low-risk Canadians on the fast track when crossing the U.S. border, but at least 330,000 Canadians aren’t sure when their applications will be processed.
NATO declared Russia the 'most significant and direct threat' to its members' peace and security on Wednesday and vowed to strengthen support for Ukraine, even as that country's leader chided the alliance for not doing more to help it defeat Moscow.
Six police officers are in hospital with gunshot wounds and two suspects have been killed following a shooting at a bank in Saanich, B.C., on Tuesday.
Access to mental health services is taking a hit in Newfoundland and Labrador as psychologists in the province continue to leave the public system en masse.
The mastermind of an elaborate Ponzi scheme that cheated hundreds of people of tens of millions of dollars was sentenced Tuesday in a Barrie, Ont., courtroom. Charles Debono has been behind bars since his arrest in 2020 for his role in one of the largest Ponzi schemes in Canadian history.
Dozens of tenants in Toronto’s Parkdale neighbourhood have been issued eviction notices for reportedly having air conditioning units in their apartments and refusing to pay extra to cover the costs of running them.
Someone in Ontario is waking up $70-million richer after Tuesday's Lotto Max jackpot was won by a single ticket holder in the province.
A Nexus card is supposed to help put low-risk Canadians on the fast track when crossing the U.S. border, but at least 330,000 Canadians aren’t sure when their applications will be processed.
An RCMP officer who was among 22 people killed in the 2020 Nova Scotia mass shooting is being remembered today during a regimental memorial service in Halifax.
A mother of three children is speaking out after spending a night on the floor of Toronto Pearson Airport with her young kids in a nightmare weekend of travel.
A second person has been charged in connection with the murder of a man in Halifax in March.
Rodgerville Road near Hensall, Ont. is closed after a fatal crash.
London fire crews were able to knock down a blaze and save a family dog late Tuesday night.
Two Saugeen Shores Police officers were injured during a drug bust in Port Elgin Tuesday morning.
City council in Sudbury gave the Junction East project its approval at Tuesday night’s meeting. The community hub will include the city’s main library, art gallery and multi-cultural-folk arts association under one roof at a cost of $98.5 million.
A mother of three children is speaking out after spending a night on the floor of Toronto Pearson Airport with her young kids in a nightmare weekend of travel.
Recent data shows more than half of all flights from some of Canada's major airports are being cancelled or delayed, as frustrations for travellers mount due in part to increased summer travel and not enough airport staff.
A drug used to treat heart attacks has proven to be an effective treatment for the most common type of stroke, and an even better treatment than the current clinical standard. says a team of Canadian researchers.
Calgary's rally is scheduled for noon in the 1400 block of Eighth Street S.W.. outside the office of Conservative MP Greg McLean.
Imperial Oil Ltd. says it and ExxonMobil Canada have entered into an agreement to sell the Montney and Duvernay oil and gas-producing areas of central Alberta to Whitecap Resources Inc. for $1.9 billion.
Two people have been transported to hospital after a crash on Ira Needles Boulevard in Kitchener.
The family of a Black four-year-old who was removed from school by police has filed a lawsuit against the Waterloo Catholic District School Board seeking $1 million in damages for what they says is the board's discrimination and negligence.
Rodgerville Road near Hensall, Ont. is closed after a fatal crash.
It's not the typical type of donation sought, but the University of British Columbia is in need of particular items: cadavers.
A Metro Vancouver mayor captured on camera a recent and close encounter with a four-legged member of his community.
Activists rallied outside David Eby's Vancouver office calling on the B.C. attorney general to drop criminal charges against Wet'suwet'en land defenders.
A 50-year-old man is dead after he was hit by a train in Leduc on Wednesday morning.
The silver balls, located on Whitemud Drive near Quesnell Bridge, appeared to have been vandalized with yellow graffiti.
Rain moved through the Edmonton area overnight and delivered about five to 10 mm across the city. In the city and surrounding areas, we'll get some sunny breaks this morning. Then, another chance of showers midday as the flow switches and starts to come from the north.
The City of Windsor is spending $50,000 on a study looking into a possible multi-use trail around a south side neighbourhood.
Windsor’s largest indoor water park is scheduled to open next week.
A 30-year-old Kingsville resident is facing impaired driving charges after a crash in Lakeshore.
A death investigation is underway after a man’s body was found on the 1200 block of Rae Street early Wednesday morning, Regina Police Service (RPS) said in a release.
A 36-year-old man was not hurt after he was approached by a man with a knife and robbed of his groceries south of downtown on Monday, the Regina Police Service (RPS) said in a release.
The Government of Saskatchewan is gearing up for a joint COVID-19 booster and influenza vaccination program in the fall.
Longtime Ottawa entrepreneur, broadcaster and author Mark Sutcliffe will be running for mayor of Ottawa, sources say.
A multi-block vehicle control zone is in effect around Parliament Hill, meant to prevent a second occupation of downtown Ottawa by protesters associated with last winter’s 'Freedom Convoy' movement.
Ontario's police watchdog is investigating after Ottawa police officers shot and killed a man and injured a woman while responding to the stabbing deaths of two women.
Saskatoon police say an investigation is ongoing, amidst a large police presence on Avenue J South between 21st and 22nd Street West.
One of the longest-running measures of the pandemic was lifted during Monday's city council meeting.
Prairie Spirt School Division says it will struggle to cover inflationary costs such as gas in the coming school year.
