Quebec is honouring the memory of the more than 10,500 people who have died in the province due to COVID-19 since the global pandemic was declared one year ago.
The province has been the hardest hit in Canada by the novel coronavirus: 10,518 deaths and 295,390 reported infections since the beginning of the pandemic.
Premier Francois Legault will deliver remarks at an afternoon ceremony Thursday in Quebec City, joined by bereaved families, front-line service workers, political leaders and senior cabinet ministers.
Quebec flags were lowered to half-mast on government buildings, and there will be a minute of silence at 1 p.m. at the legislature. Cities across the province are holding their own events.
The government chose the white rose as the emblem for the day, saying the flower evokes both strength and fragility. Legault marked the one-year anniversary of the World Health Organization declaring COVID-19 a global pandemic with a message on Twitter Thursday.
"We have been fighting the battle of our lives for a year," he said. "On this (day), we remember. We honour the memory of all those who have passed away too soon."
Some of those who have lost loved ones said the commemoration is a chance to say a proper goodbye.
Quebec City resident Lucie Garneau lost her father, Lucien, on Dec. 24 at age 98. He died suddenly of COVID-19, without the presence of his family, only medical staff.
Garneau said some will say her father was old but he was in good health overall, adding that his death came as a shock.
She was unable to see her father and give him a hug in the days before his death at a makeshift COVID-19 ward at Hotel Le Concorde. But Garneau lauded the work of a doctor who let her see her father using FaceTime.
"He said to me: 'You know, I'm going to come back as before, don't worry,'" she recounted.
Garneau will be present Thursday at the legislature in the company of others who have lost loved ones and wants her father to know that she loves him and won't forget him.
"For me, it's very meaningful to be there," Garneau said, adding it will allow her to heal and it is a "gesture of solidarity" for victims and medical staff.
"It will help me to mourn and bring me comfort because I know that there will be people present who have experienced a situation similar to mine," Garneau said.
In addition to the 738 new COVID-19 infections and 15 deaths reported Thursday, provincial health authorities said 18 fewer patients were in hospital, for a total of 563, with 111 requiring intensive care, a drop of one.
There are 7,134 active reported cases in the province and 277,738 recoveries.
Quebec confirmed six additional cases of COVID-19 variants, for a total of 341: five cases of the B.1.1.7 variant first detected in the United Kingdom and one of the B. 1.351 mutation first identified in South Africa.
Quebec also administered 18,659 vaccine doses Wednesday, for a total of 619,060 — about 7.3 per cent of the population.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 11, 2021.
— with files from Caroline Plante in Quebec City
The Canadian Press
