The pressure exerted by COVID-19 on Quebec hospitals continues to recede, as the province has fallen below the bar of 1,100 hospitalized patients. Deaths also continue to fall, although cases have been on a slight upward trend recently.
Posted at 11:15 a.m.
Quebec reports two new deaths on Friday, bringing the daily average calculated over seven days to five. The trend is thus down 44% over one week.
Quebec also reports a decrease of 38 hospitalizations on Friday. The 1,067 people currently hospitalized represent a drop of 17% over one week. In intensive care, the 28 patients represent a decline of 22% over one week.
The number of people in hospital is expected to continue to decline over the next few days, with the number of discharges continuing to outpace admissions. On average, there are 32 fewer patients every day.
The 542 new cases reported on Friday bring the daily average to 545. The trend is thus up slightly by 4% over one week. These figures likely reflect only a portion of total infections, due to limited access to PCR screening tests. Moreover, the proportion of PCR screening tests proving positive for COVID-19 remains high, at 8.5%.
In addition to the cases detected by PCR tests, 346 people have also reported in recent days having tested positive on a rapid test. Self-reported cases, which are not included in daily reported cases, have been stable for a week.
The vaccination campaign continues to slow down. Quebec administers an average of 6,400 doses per day, down 21% over one week. To date, 83.4% of Quebecers have received two doses, but only 52.1% have had three and 13.3% have received four.
