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

Note: Quebec's Health Ministry does not publish the number of vaccines administered on weekends and public holidays. 

Quebec can't go back to the way things were before the pandemic, said Premier François Legault in a video posted to social media Monday 

Legault will set out his priorities for the rest of his government's mandate with an inaugural speech at 2 p.m. today and tell Quebecers how he wants to move forward post-pandemic. 

"Now is the time to look to the future," the premier said. 

"The pandemic showed major dysfunctions in our health-care system, which need to be fixed," he said, highlighting the need to reduce staff shortages and improve access to family doctors.

Legault announced Oct. 7 he was proroguing the province's legislature, cutting short the previous session. Under provincial law, the next election is set for Oct. 3, 2022.

Quebecers can now obtain a proof of COVID-19 vaccination specifically intended for travel outside the province, the Health Ministry announced Monday.

Officials said the new proof of vaccination will be accepted in all other provinces, as well as in parts of the United States and some other countries.

Public health officials said the document is different from the province's vaccination passport, which is used to access gyms, restaurants, bars and sporting and entertainment venues in Quebec.

The new proof of vaccination will be available for download from Quebec's COVID-19 website as a PDF, to be used on a mobile device or printed.

As of yesterday, health-care workers who aren't adequately vaccinated are no longer eligible for their salary bonuses.

Quebec has offered bonuses for the past year and a half to health-care workers. Front-line health-care workers received an eight-per-cent salary increase, whereas employees who were at a lower risk of exposure to COVID-19 received a four-per-cent increase.

Staff who aren't adequately vaccinated will also be ineligible for the recently announced $15,000 bonus, Health Minister Christian Dubé told Radio-Canada's Tout le monde en parle Sunday. 

"The most important thing for me is to protect our network and protect our patients, so there will be difficult decisions to make on Nov. 15." he said.