Quebec announces sweeping new COVID-19 restrictions as daily case record broken again

Quebec officials announced new COVID-19 restrictions Monday as the province reported its highest-ever tally of daily COVID-19 infections.

The province counted 4,571 new virus cases and three more deaths Monday, according to an update from its public health bureau. More than 3,000 of those cases are in fully vaccinated individuals.

That’s just days after the previous daily case record was set on December 17.

During a news conference Monday afternoon, officials announced they would close schools, movie theatres, bars, spas, and fitness facilities to deal with the surging case counts.

Restaurants must also reduce their capacity to 50%, and only open between 5 am and 10 pm. Audiences are also being removed from professional sports games.

The trend in Quebec mirrors case counts across Canada, which are rising rapidly as the Omicron variant takes hold. Ontario reported more than 4,000 COVID-19 cases on several days this week. Nova Scotia also reported record-breaking case counts.

Many jurisdictions are re-imposing restrictions on even capacity limits and private social gatherings.

Although many of Quebec’s latest cases are in vaccinated individuals, the province reports that having both shots still offers relative protection. Unvaccinated individuals are nearly twice as likely to become infected and 14 times more likely to end up in the hospital than their double-vaccinated peers.

#COVID19 – En date du 19 décembre, voici la situation au Québec: https://t.co/pwoUoaBgaF

Vaccination 5-11 ans: À ce jour, 340 537 jeunes ont reçu une première dose du vaccin contre la COVID-19 et 23 601 attendent leur rendez-vous. pic.twitter.com/49Klh9Ubtp

— Santé Québec (@sante_qc) December 20, 2021