COVID-19 live updates: Quebecers largely support vaccine passports, poll suggests

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Updated throughout the day on Tuesday, July 20. Questions/comments: [email protected]

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Top updates

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2:40 p.m.

Man arrested after dramatic escape from Australia hotel quarantine

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2:10 p.m.

Air Canada to add up to 220 daily flights between Canada and U.S.

Air Canada is adding dozens of routes to the United States as part of its summer schedule, with the change coming after the federal government loosened border restrictions Monday.

The additional flights are at airports in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver and Calgary.

Read our full story.

1:25 p.m.

Vaccinations surge in France after vaccine passes announced

France’s vaccination rollout is accelerating after President Emmanuel Macron announced that “health passes” – showing proof of testing or immunization – will be required in restaurants and cafés, the Bloomberg news agency reports today.

A Health Ministry official said at a briefing that 4.3 million injections were administered last week, including 1.7 million first doses. In another record, 880,000 shots were administered on Friday. And this week saw the best Monday of the rollout, the official said.

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French vaccinations are proceeding twice as fast as the rollouts in Italy and Germany, the official said.

After Macron’s speech, the number of online vaccine appointments climbed to 520,000 daily from 140,000 daily in early July. France will reach its target of 40 million first doses ahead of schedule, the official said.

12:55 p.m.

Government expects foreign states’ wariness of mix-and-max vaccination to ‘evolve’

From The Canadian Press:

Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc is sounding a note of hope that Canadians who mixed and matched vaccines will not have a problem crossing borders in the months ahead.

While Canadian health authorities say recipients of a Moderna dose should not hesitate to have Pfizer-BioNTech as their second jab — or vice versa — the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has so far been reluctant to sanction the practice, saying it should only be done in “exceptional situations.”

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The different view raises questions about how easily Canadians who mixed and matched will be able to cross into the United States once it opens its land borders to its northern neighbour.

Meanwhile, many European countries do not recognize the AstraZeneca vaccine made at the Serum Institute of India, known by the brand name Covishield, meaning Canadians who received it could find themselves barred from entry.

LeBlanc says he believes data sharing and conversations between health authorities around the world will lead to an “evolution” and “adjustment” of the more conservative approach of some countries’ regulatory bodies.

12:40 p.m.

Quebecers largely support vaccine passports, poll suggests

A new national survey by Léger for The Canadian Press indicates that Quebecers largely support vaccine passports.

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The Quebec government has said it hopes to have a vaccine passport system in place by Sept. 1. Under the plan, those who are not adequately vaccinated could be barred from non-essential services in the event of outbreaks.

Léger asked respondents a series of questions, including whether a vaccine passport should be required to participate in certain activities, and whether such a passport should be imposed for all essential and non-essential activities.

Sixty-four per cent of respondents said they would agree with requiring such a document “for all essential and non-essential activities.”

More results are below. (Léger has published the full poll results)

Data in bold red characters indicates “a significantly lower proportion than that of other respondents,” Léger said. “Conversely, data in bold green characters indicates a significantly higher proportion that that of other respondents.”

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12:20 p.m.

No sign White House plans to ease travel restrictions on Canadians

The United States is not currently planning to reciprocate by easing travel restrictions on would-be Canadian visitors hoping to go south of the border.

Read our full story.

12:10 p.m.

‘Slight increase in cases is starting to emerge’ in Quebec, Dubé says

On Twitter today, Health Minister Christian Dubé said “a slight increase in cases is starting to emerge (in Quebec), especially among young adults.

“That’s why we’re preparing the ground for a vaccine passport, if and only if the situation worsens. Individuals who have received two doses ensure a return to normalcy.”

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Noon

Trudeau makes announcement

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Noon

Cowansville bakery under attack after refusing to serve maskless customer

La Mie Bretonne, a bakery in the Eastern Townships community of Cowansville, is under attack on social media after refusing to serve a customer not wearing a mask, Le Soleil is reporting.

11:20 a.m.

Federal ministers provide update on the pandemic situation and vaccine distribution

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11:15 a.m.

54% of Quebecers 12 and older are fully vaccinated

11:15 a.m.

Updated charts: Quebec cases, deaths

11 a.m.

Quebec reports 76 new cases, no deaths as hospitalizations dip

Quebec has recorded 76 new cases of COVID-19, the provincial government announced this morning.

No new deaths were reported.

Some other key statistics from Quebec’s latest COVID-19 update:

Since the beginning of the pandemic, Quebec has reported 376,416 cases and 11,236 deaths linked to COVID-19. A total of 364,540 people who have contracted the disease have since recovered.

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10:55 a.m.

Tokyo Olympics head won’t rule out cancelling games

From the Reuters news agency:

Just days ahead of the opening ceremony, the head of the Tokyo Olympics organizing committee said Tuesday that he won’t rule out cancelling the games over COVID-19 concerns.

“We can’t predict what will happen with the number of coronavirus cases,” said Toshiro Muto. “So we will continue discussions if there is a spike in cases.”

As it stands, the opening ceremony for the 2020 Summer Games, which were postponed last year due to the coronavirus, remains on schedule for Friday.

Several prominent sponsors, including Panasonic and Fujitsu, have decided to skip the opening ceremony and Toyota has decided to nix all ads related to the Tokyo Games.

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Meanwhile, organizers are faced with 67 cases of COVID-19 found among those involved with the Olympics since July 1.

“We have agreed that based on the coronavirus situation, we will convene five-party talks again,” said Muto. “At this point, the coronavirus cases may rise or fall, so we will think about what we should do when the situation arises.”

The pageantry of the opening ceremony comes amid the stark reality of the virus in Japan’s capital city. On Tuesday, Tokyo reported 1,387 new COVID-19 infections, with a seven-day average of 1,100 cases per day.

Because of the outbreak, events at the Games will be held without spectators.

Tokyo is operating under a state of emergency through Aug. 22 — its fourth since the coronavirus pandemic began in March 2020. The Games will go on despite residents’ opposition and doctors’ warnings that hospitals could be flooded with COVID-19 patients.

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10:40 a.m.

Opinion: What we know about kids and masks

A study suggesting mask-wearing is dangerous in children got lots of attention. Less publicized was its retraction due to critical flaws.

Read the latest column by Christopher Labos, a Montreal physician.

10 a.m.

Quebec promotes vaccine lottery, with first draws on Aug. 6

Quebec has updated its coronavirus webpage with information in English about its COVID-19 vaccination lotteries – one for adults, the other for people aged 12 to 17.

A total of $2 million in prize money will be distributed, with entries for the first draw accepted as of Sunday, July 25. The contests are for people who are fully vaccinated. Also eligible are people who had a confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis and received one vaccine dose.

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There will be draws every Friday between Aug. 6 and Sept. 3:

From the provincial government website:

“Adults (age 18 and over): Between Aug. 1 and Aug. 27, the vaccination contest will hold weekly draws for cash prizes of $150,000 among people entered after receiving their first dose of vaccine. Total value of such prizes is $600,000. On Sept. 3, 2021, a draw for a $1 million prize will be held for people entered after receiving two doses of vaccine. The first dose must have been received before Aug. 3 and the second dose before Aug. 31.”

“Young people (age 12 to 17): Between Aug. 1 and Aug. 27, the vaccination contest will hold weekly draws for two $10,000 scholarships among the people entered after receiving their first dose of vaccine, for a total value of $80,000. On Sept. 3, 2021, a draw for sixteen scholarships of $20,000 each, for a total value of $320,000, will be held for people aged 12 to 17 after receiving two doses of vaccine.”

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Health Minister Christian Dubé announced the lottery last week, suggesting that to boost Quebec’s vaccination rate, “every penny is worth it at this stage of the game.”

9:50 a.m.

Canadians say vaccination proof must be required of all travellers: poll

A new poll suggests a majority of Canadians say proof of vaccination should be required of all essential and non-essential travellers, The Canadian Press reports.

Fifty-eight per cent of respondents to an online survey by Léger and the Association for Canadian Studies say travellers should be required to show a document that proves they are immunized against the novel coronavirus, or what’s known as a “vaccine passport.” Some 30 per cent say the document is not necessary.

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The poll suggests 48 per cent of Canadians support the total reopening of the Canada-U.S. border at the end of August, including to tourists, while 52 per cent say they oppose the reopening.

Léger executive vice-president Christian Bourque said Canadians are divided on the issues of requiring travellers to show proof of vaccination and reopening the borders.

“(They are) divided in a way that, I think, gives some flexibility to Ottawa when making decisions, because there is no hard consensus on either side,” he said.

The online poll of 1,529 adult Canadians was carried out July 16 to 18, and it cannot be assigned a margin of error because internet-based surveys are not considered random samples.

The survey found that 66 per cent of respondents say people should be fully vaccinated to be allowed to cross the border, while 16 per cent say providing a recent negative test is enough and 14 per cent say border crossing should be limited only to essential travel.

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It found that 44 per cent of respondents say both air and land borders with the U.S. should be open while 36 per cent say the borders should be closed.

9:45 a.m.

Video: Travellers at Trudeau airport react to border reopening plan

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9:30 a.m.

U.S. coronavirus cases rise, fuelling fears of resurgence

A rapid increase in coronavirus cases in the United States and abroad is fuelling fears of a pandemic resurgence and sending shockwaves through the stock market as the highly contagious Delta variant takes hold and vaccinations lag in several states.

Read our full story.

9:30 a.m.

Tourism industry breathes sigh of relief as Ottawa unveils border reopening roadmap

Relief in tourism circles was palpable following Ottawa’s decision to reopen international borders over the coming weeks.

Read our full story, by Frédéric Tomesco.

9:30 a.m.

Montreal travellers happy to see border opening up

Travellers at Trudeau airport were enthused about the federal government’s decision Monday to ease restrictions for people entering Canada.

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Read our full story, by Brendan Kelly.

9:15 a.m.

The situation across Canada

Here’s the rate of case growth per 100,000 people over the past seven days, via the federal government’s latest epidemiology update.

9:15 a.m.

A guide to COVID-19 vaccinations in Quebec

Local health authorities have set up mass vaccination sites across Montreal.

You can book appointments via the Clic Santé website or by phone at 1-877-644-4545.

Quebecers can also visit walk-in AstraZeneca, Moderna and Pfizer vaccine clinics.

Here are the nuts and bolts of getting vaccinated, by Katherine Wilton. Her guide includes the age groups targeted, how to book appointments, and addresses of vaccination centres.

Two private sites can also help you book appointments:

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9:15 a.m.

Here are the current pandemic restrictions in Montreal and Quebec

We are regularly updating our list of what services are open, closed or modified in Montreal and Quebec, including information on the curfew and other lockdown measures.

You can read it here.

9:15 a.m.

Here’s where Montrealers can get tested today

Montrealers can be screened at test centres across the island.

You can check screening clinic wait times here.

8:30 a.m.

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