The COVID-19 toll continues to grow in Quebec, as the province reports 45 additional deaths and a further increase in hospitalizations on Thursday, which are now approaching the symbolic threshold of 3,000.
Posted at 11:00 a.m.
Updated at 11:21 am
These 45 new deaths bring the daily average to 40. The trend is thus up by 107% over a period of one week.
In addition, the 8,793 new cases reported Thursday bring the average to 11,363, down 27% over one week. However, it should be remembered that the limits imposed on screening in the last few days make these data much more imprecise. The positivity rate nevertheless reached 15.9%.
In the health network, there is a further increase of 117 hospitalizations compared to the previous day, which translates into 443 new admissions and 326 more discharges.
Currently, 2,994 patients are hospitalized in Quebec in connection with COVID-19, of which 272 are still in intensive care, an increase of nine people in 24 hours on this plan (44 admissions, 35 discharges) . The 2,994 people who are currently hospitalized represent an increase of 53% over a period of one week.
Focus on vaccination
On the vaccination side, the pace continues to accelerate. The authorities administered no less than 111,395 additional doses on Wednesday, to which were added 4,711 vaccines given before January 12 which had not yet been officially counted. Including people vaccinated outside the province, more than 16.3 million doses were given to Quebecers.
At this point, 85.3% of the Quebec population has received one dose, 78.1% has received two doses and 26.5% now has three.
The Minister of Health, Christian Dubé, for his part announced Thursday morning that dozens of companies will vaccinate their employees and those around them in the coming weeks, as part of a new initiative to propel the campaign. Major players such as National Bank, Air Canada, Walmart, CAE and Rio Tinto will participate in the project.
Quebec anticipates that “more than 75,000 doses” will be administered in these places over the next few weeks. “Most of the 28 participating companies will offer vaccination starting the week of January 17,” says the Ministry of Health and Social Services (MSSS).
In the process, the government also improved its offer to health workers overwhelmed by the Omicron tsunami with a series of incentives that could “increase the capacity of the resources of the health and social services network and certain private partners ”. These new measures will be in effect for a period of 12 weeks, in the context of the Omicron surge.
On Tuesday, Public Health carried out 43,320 screening tests, a figure relatively stable compared to the weekly average.
With Pierre-André Normandin