Quebec reports Wednesday 18 new deaths attributed to COVID-19, as well as a decrease of nine hospitalizations. Boosted by the arrival of the bivalent vaccine, the vaccination campaign continues to accelerate.
Posted at 11:14 a.m.
Updated at 11:54 a.m.
The 18 new deaths reported on Wednesday bring the daily average calculated over seven days to 11. The trend is up 34% over one week.
Quebec also reported a drop of nine hospitalizations on Wednesday. The 1,591 people currently hospitalized represent a stable trend over one week. In intensive care, on the other hand, the 40 patients represent an increase of 25% over one week.
The number of people hospitalized should remain stable over the next few days, with the number of discharges slightly exceeding admissions. On average, there are six fewer patients every day.
The number of workers absent due to the pandemic has increased slightly. They were 3,595 on Wednesday having to isolate themselves, or 4% more than last week.
The 853 new cases reported on Wednesday bring the daily average to 755. The trend is thus up 10% over one week. 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-19 remains high, at 7.5%.
In addition to the cases detected by PCR tests, 362 people have also reported in recent days having obtained a positive result from a rapid test. Self-reported cases, which are not included in daily reported cases, have increased by 12% for a week.
Vaccination is accelerating
The pace of the vaccination campaign continues to accelerate. Quebec administers an average of 16,700 doses per day, or 32% more than last week.
On the other hand, despite the increase in vaccination, vaccination coverage continues to decline. Taking into account the fact that public health recommends getting vaccinated after five months, only 21.9% of Quebecers have their vaccination up to date.
