Quebec will require people to show proof of vaccination against COVID-19 to enter liquor and cannabis stores starting on January 18 as a way to coerce unvaccinated people to get inoculated against the highly transmissible respiratory disease.
The Quebec government said it can introduce new rules for liquor and pot stores because they are owned and operated by the provincial government.
The provincial government is also considering limiting access to shopping malls and personal care salons for unvaccinated people.
“If they won't protect themselves, we'll protect them from themselves,” Health Minister Christian Dube told reporters in Montreal, referring to people who haven't had a single dose of COVID-19 vaccine. He said unvaccinated people represent about 10 per cent of Quebec adults but account for about 50 per cent of COVID-19 intensive care patients.
Quebec's vaccine passport is required to access businesses such as bars and restaurants, which have been closed to reduce COVID-19 transmission. Liquor and cannabis stores, however, are still open during the lockdown.
He added that the vaccine passport would be updated to require three doses instead of two, as soon as all Quebecers have access to booster shots. The general public 50 and older can book appointments for third doses, as can pregnant women, healthcare workers and other select groups.
The health minister announced the new coercive rules for liquor and cannabis stores as the province struggles with what he called "the worst combination" of rising COVID-19 hospitalizations and rising numbers of absent healthcare workers.
He said about 20,000 health staff are off work because they have tested positive for COVID-19 or have been exposed to the virus, adding that the government is working with unions to find more staff to care for up to 2,500 COVID-19 patients.
Earlier Thursday, a government health-care research institute said that within two weeks there could be more than 3,000 COVID-19 patients in regular hospital beds and another 400 in intensive care, higher than at any previous point in the pandemic.
