The impact of the start of the school year on the spread of COVID-19 is beginning to be felt, with the number of new cases stabilizing. Still, the number of people hospitalized continues to decline while the vaccination campaign is already starting to slow down.
Posted at 12:46 p.m.
The 761 new cases reported on Friday bring the daily average to 748. The trend is thus down 9% over one week, but tends to stabilize. These numbers likely reflect only a portion of total infections, due to limited access to PCR testing. Moreover, the proportion of PCR screening tests proving positive for COVID remains high, at 8%. In addition to the cases detected by PCR tests, 258 people have also reported in recent days having obtained a positive result from a rapid test.
Still, the trend remains clearly downward in hospitals. Quebec reports a decrease of 42 hospitalizations on Friday. The 1,728 people currently hospitalized represent a decrease of 10% over one week. Note, of the lot, 588 patients were hospitalized due to COVID, the 1140 others having been admitted for another reason.
In intensive care, the 37 patients also represent a drop of 10% over one week. Of the lot, 17 patients were admitted due to COVID and the other 20 for another reason.
The number of people in hospital is expected to continue to decline over the next few days, with discharges outpacing admissions. On average, there are 27 fewer patients every day.
Another sign of a stabilization of the spread in this new school year, the number of health workers absent due to the pandemic tends to stabilize. They were 3,694 Friday to have to isolate themselves, a decrease of 5% compared to last week.
Finally, the 23 new deaths reported on Friday bring the daily average calculated over seven days to 12. The trend is down 27% over one week. A significant portion of this toll appears to be due to a delay in data entry. Indeed, 16 of the deaths occurred more than a week ago.
Vaccination slows down
The pace of the recently relaunched vaccination campaign to provide a booster dose to the majority of Quebecers is already showing signs of slowing down. Quebec administers an average of 16,600 doses per day, which is 8% less than last week.
Taking into account the fact that public health recommends getting vaccinated after five months, only 24.1% of Quebecers have their vaccination up to date. These are mainly people over 60 years old.
