From team sports to aquatic parks, Quebec extends reach of vaccine passport

The Quebec government is moving forward with issuing a vaccine passport on September 1 that will prevent people who have not been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 from visiting restaurants, bars and playing organized team sports.

The passport will be required for a host of other activities announced on Tuesday, ranging from paintball and movie theaters to water parks and zoos. The full list is Available here, in French.

Health Minister Christian Dube said the growing number of COVID-19 cases and the growing presence of the more dangerous delta variant made the passport system necessary.

The passport – an electronic record of vaccination in the form of a QR code – has already been tested at a few institutions across the province and Dube said it has proven effective and effective.

Watch | The Minister of Health said that the passport of the vaccine represents freedom:

Dube says vaccine passports represent freedom for the majority of Quebecers

Health Minister Christian Duby says the new system, which begins on September 1, will mean most people will not lose access to non-essential services during the fourth wave. 1:52

“The vaccine passport is a balance we’ve found in keeping our economy open while protecting the population,” Dubey said at a news conference on Tuesday.

“With the vaccine and the passport, we want to avoid closing businesses and banning activities.”

The vaccine passport is the first of its kind to be announced in Canada. British Columbia outlined a similar plan earlier this week.

The mobile app will be available for download from August 25th.

Dobby says delta format made passport necessary

Despite the high vaccination rate (86 percent of the eligible population in Quebec now received the first dose, and 77 percent on two doses), Dube noted that cases are up more this month than they were at the same time last year.

There were more than 7,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in August 2021, compared to about 2,000 cases last year.

The number of hospitalizations has also gone up, though not as fast as a year ago, due to the arrival of vaccines. Dobby said the advent of the delta variable made the passport essential.

“The delta type, as we know, is gaining strength and will soon become the main stream of the virus,” he said.

When asked if he was concerned about the wave of protests against the passport system, Dube said the high level of vaccination among the public indicated that most people were on board.

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