Quebec officials to make COVID-19 vaccine passport announcement today

Quebec health officials to make COVID-19 vaccine passport announcement today

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More details surrounding Quebec’s COVID-19 vaccine passport will be announced on Tuesday.

Health Minister Christian Dubé will hold a news conference at 1 pm on Tuesday to announce details about the initiative, which would be the first of its kind in Canada.

Last week, Dubé and Premier François Legault announced Quebec will go ahead with the vaccine passport, amid an uptick in COVID-19 cases in the province.

Earlier this summer, health officials said they would consider implementing a vaccine passport if case numbers increased.

Legault, Dubé, and public leaders said Quebec’s recent rising COVID-19 case count is “worrying.” The health minister previously said the province’s vaccination passport would “not be used for access to services. Only for non-essential things.”

See also:
- Quebec reports over 200 new COVID-19 cases for fifth consecutive day
- Canada’s border restrictions relax to allow US tourists in

Earlier in July, the Quebec government reduced physical distancing guidelines to one metre, down from the oft-mentioned two-metre guideline that had been in place since March 2020.

Retail stores across the province no longer need to enforce a maximum customer capacity.

As of August 1, bars and restaurants in Quebec were permitted to serve alcohol until 1 am, an hour later than the previous set of COVID-19 protocols.

On Monday, Quebec reported over 200 new COVID-19 cases for the fifth consecutive day.

Nearly 12 million COVID-19 vaccines have been administered since December 2020 in Quebec. The province has announced one COVID-19-related death since the beginning of August.

Dubé and Legault say Quebec’s recent increase in cases means we can “start talking about a fourth wave.”

Dubé will be joined by two public health officials at 1 pm from Montreal — Strategic Medical Advisor Dr. Yves Jalbert and Health Officer Caroline Roy.

Over the course of the pandemic, there have been 11,242 deaths, 379,439 confirmed cases, 3,928,031 negative cases, and 366,340 COVID-19 recoveries in Quebec.