Quebec to start flu vaccination campaign, as COVID-19 hospitalizations rise by dozens
Quebec's director of public health Dr. Luc Boileau updated the province on the evolution of the COVID-19 situation in Quebec on Thursday.
He was accompanied by Daniel Desharnais, Assistant Deputy Minister of the Direction générale de la coordination réseau et ministérielle et des affaires institutionnelles of the Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux.
Boileau asked Quebecers to get a flu vaccine at the same time as the COVID-19 vaccine, as cases are on the rise. The influenza vaccination campaign will begin Oct. 5.
He said it's "too early" to begin talking about an eighth wave of the pandemic, but admitted that hospitalizations due to the disease are rising and SARS-CoV-2 concentrations are showing up in wastewater more.
NEW NUMBERS
Quebec reported on Thursday that eight more people died due to the disease, bringing the total number of deaths in the province to 16,770 since the start of the pandemic.
Hospitalizations rose by a net total of 44 to 1,663, with 34 of those people in intensive care units, the same number as on Wednesday.
A total of 3,861 health-care workers are absent for COVID-19-related reasons, which is one more than 24 hours ago.
Out of 11,836 PCR tests that were analyzed, 1,037 came back positive for a positivity rate of 9 per cent.
Since the pandemic began, Quebec has logged 1,199,868 positive PCR tests.
In addition, 170 more positive self-declared rapid tests were recorded, for a total of 245,035.
Quebec's Health Ministry is monitoring 248 active COVID-19 outbreaks.
On Sept. 27, 12,669 samples were analyzed.
Health-care professionals administered 24,986 more vaccinations, bringing that total to 21,242,658.
With files from the Canadian Press.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.