Quebec's Daily Tally Of New COVID-19 Deaths Is The Highest It's Been Since January 2021

Quebec's latest COVID-19 update on January 8 reports 44 more deaths — the highest daily tally of new deaths since almost one year ago in January 2021.

According to the Institut national de santé publique du Québec (INSPQ), the last time the daily death count was more than 44 was on January 27, 2021, when 45 deaths were recorded.* In total, 11,917 Quebecers have died from COVID-19 over the course of the pandemic.

Meanwhile, a record 2,296 people remain in hospital in Quebec. This is an increase of 163 people since yesterday, at which point the province had already broken its record for most hospitalizations since the start of the pandemic.

There are now 245 people in the intensive care unit, an increase of 16.

On Saturday, the province also reported 15,928 new cases of COVID-19.

This case count should be taken with a grain of salt, however. Experts have warned that official COVID-19 case data is unreliable because at-home rapid test results aren't being factored in.

Currently, 89% of Quebecers aged 5 and over have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.

At a press conference on Friday, Canadian Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos said he believes COVID-19 vaccines will be mandatory in Canada "one day" and Quebec officials have publicly stated that they haven't ruled out this option.

In the coming weeks, Quebec will require that customers have a vaccine passport to enter liquor and cannabis stores, the SAQ and the SQDC. Health Minister Christian Dubé said the vaccine passport will also become mandatory for more businesses in the near future.

Health Canada has a robust website with all the latest information on COVID-19 vaccines and can answer any questions you may have.

*This article has been updated.