COVID-19 in Quebec: What you need to know Tuesday

• On Tuesday, Quebec reported 1,153people in hospital (an increase of 38from the previous day), including 63in intensive care (an increase of 10 fromthe previous day).
• The province reported 2,171new cases of COVID-19 and 20 deaths.
• Since the start of the pandemic, there have been 961,383confirmed cases, and 14,345people have died.
• The province also reported a total of18,622,299doses of COVID-19 vaccines administered, including 4,287doses in the last 24 hours.
• 91 per cent of the eligible population in the province (agedfive and up) have received one dose of the vaccine;87per cent have received two doses, and 53 per cent have received three doses.

*The new cases are those reported to the Quebec government only. They are believed to be an underrepresentation of the virus's spread, given the limited availability of PCR tests and use of home testing kits.

*Quebec's Health Ministry announced it will no longerreport itsCOVID-19 numberson the weekend.

Quebec Health Minister Christian Dubunveiled his vision for reforming the province's health-care system by 2025, with a focus on acceleratingaccess to front-line services through a one-stop phone service, reducing emergency room waittimes and improvingworking conditions for nurses.

The plan includes abolishing forced overtime for nurses and stepping upalternatives for front-line care, including giving nurse practitioners, paramedics and pharmacists more power to treat patients.

Under the plan, Quebecers will call a phone number which would act as a one-stop service, where a nurse woulddirect patients to the appropriate medical service, whether that's seeing a doctor or lining them up with some other method of care.

Dubsaid he hopes that "the majority" of people without a family doctor, some 945,000 Quebecers, will be able to use the one-stop service by the end of the summer.

Among the 50 proposed measures arespeeding up the processing of paperwork by hiring 3,000 new clerks,changing how emergency rooms are run, investing in more home-care services for seniors andmodernizing access to medical data.

4th dose for seniors, immunocompromised people

Starting today,Quebecers most vulnerable to serious complications from COVID-19 seniors over 80, immunocompromised people and residents of seniors'homes can start receiving a fourthvaccine dose.

Last week,Quebec's immunization committee (CIQ) suggested the government start preparing a mass COVID-19 vaccine fourth-dose campaign for the general population that would be launched in the fall.

In a written opinion released Thursday, the CIQrecommended the government implement "a new vaccine strategy aimed at periodically boosting immunity against COVID-19 while also allowing for the ability to react to a possible emergence of a new variant of concern."

Currently,only 53 per cent of the population aged five and older have received a third dose of vaccine, according to provincial health data.

6th wave is imminent, says public health director

The province's public health director is urging Quebecers to exercise more caution in the face of a potential sixth wave of COVID-19.

On Sunday, Dr. Luc Boileau came short of confirminganother pandemicwave of infectionsbut said the spike in cases in recent weeks driven by the Omicron subvariant BA.2suggests oneisimminent.

He said the BA.2 variant could soon beresponsible for at least two-thirds of COVID-19 cases in Quebec.

Despite several regions having seen a surge in cases, including Montreal,Quebec has no plans to reintroduce public health restrictions from previous waves, Boileau said.

The province is still planning to all but eliminate mandatory masking by mid-April.

Top COVID-19 stories

• Quebec plans to eliminate forced overtime for nurses, revamp health system by 2025.
• Quebec liftingsome pandemic measures early,to soon lift public masking requirements.
• Quebecpublic health director defends planto lift COVID-19 restrictions early.
• Quebecscraps masks in class for elementary, high school students after March break.
• Is it the right time to lift Quebec's vaccination passport? Experts are divided..
• Quebecers aged 12-17 are now eligible for a 3rd dose.
• Data, tests and transparency: What Quebec needs to live with COVID-19.