The downward trend in hospitalizations related to COVID-19 continues in Quebec. The province, however, records 15 additional deaths.
Posted at 11:01 a.m.
Updated at 11:25 a.m.
The 15 new deaths reported on Thursday bring the daily average to 14. The trend for a week is thus down 6%. In total, the province has recorded 14,141 deaths since the start of the pandemic.
On Thursday, there was a drop of 60 hospitalizations in the health network, which translates into 70 new hospital admissions and 130 discharges. Across Quebec, 1,162 patients therefore remain hospitalized in connection with the virus, a decrease of 15% compared to last week.
Of these, 68 are still in intensive care, one less than the day before (four entries and five exits). This is an 11% drop from last week.
For a seventh consecutive week, the number of new hospitalizations is down compared to the previous week. This decrease is observed in all age groups and in all regions, notes the Institute of Excellence in Health and Social Services (INESSS).
In new models published on Wednesday, INESSS has also forecast a stabilization in the number of new hospitalizations, a first since the peak of the fifth wave, which took place in mid-January. The Institute expects to see between 48 and 92 patients with COVID-19 per day over the next two weeks. The network should be “between levels 2 and 3 defined by the Ministry of Health and Social Services (MSSS)”. In addition, a decrease in the number of intensive care beds occupied by COVID patients is expected.
The 1,267 new cases bring the daily average to 1,125, down 4% over one week. The trend of new cases thus seems to be stabilizing. However, it should be remembered that the limits imposed on screening have made the data related to infections much less representative for several weeks now.
On Tuesday, Public Health carried out 14,046 screening tests. On Wednesday, 327 positive rapid tests were “self-declared” on the government platform. So far, 105,574 rapid tests have been “self-reported”, the vast majority of which, more than 82,000 of them, had a positive diagnosis of COVID-19.
The Quebec vaccination campaign continues to slow down. In the past 24 hours, barely 6,563 doses of vaccine have been administered, to which are added 91 vaccines given before March 9 which had not yet been counted.
So far, 86.6% of Quebecers have received at least one dose, 82.5% have received at least two and 49.2% have received their third.
With Pierre-André Normandin