Quebec reports 20 new deaths linked to COVID-19 and an increase of nine hospitalizations, while the spread of the virus remains stable. Meanwhile, vaccination continues to stagnate as the cold season approaches.
Posted at 11:55 a.m.
Updated at 12:14 p.m.
The 20 new deaths reported on Thursday bring the daily average calculated over seven days to 11. The trend is down 11% over one week. On the other hand, 17 of the 20 new deaths occurred more than a week ago, a sign of a delay in the transmission of information.
Quebec is also reporting an increase of nine hospitalizations on Thursday. The 1,549 people currently hospitalized represent a stable trend over one week. In intensive care, there are 36 patients.
The number of people hospitalized should remain stable over the next few days, with the number of discharges approaching admissions. On average, there are three fewer patients every day.
The number of workers absent due to the pandemic is stable. They were 3689 Thursday to have to isolate themselves, as much as last week.
The 929 new cases reported on Thursday bring the daily average to 738. The trend is thus stable 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 7.9%.
In addition to the cases detected by PCR tests, 335 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, are also stable over a week.
Vaccination still stagnates
The pace of the vaccination campaign continues to stagnate. Quebec administers an average of 18,800 doses per day, a stable number since last week.
Taking into account the fact that Public Health recommends getting vaccinated after five months, only 21% of Quebecers have their vaccination up to date. Vaccination coverage thus continues to decline as the cold season approaches.
