Quebec crossed the threshold of 17,000 deaths attributed to COVID-19 on Thursday, while 16 more people died after being infected. Despite this human toll which continues to increase, the spread and hospitalizations continue their downward trend.
Posted at 11:33 a.m.
Since the arrival of the coronavirus in Quebec in February 2020, 17,014 Quebecers have died after contracting COVID-19. The 16 new deaths reported on Thursday bring the daily average calculated over seven days to 13. The trend is thus up 44% over one week.
In addition to deaths, COVID indicators are trending downward in Quebec. The province reported Thursday a decrease of 17 hospitalizations. The 1,925 people currently hospitalized represent a drop of 8% over one week. In intensive care, the 47 patients represent a drop of 13% over one week.
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 23 fewer patients every day.
The number of healthcare workers absent due to the pandemic continues to decline. Thursday, there were 3786 absences in the network.
The spread also decreases. The 979 new cases reported on Thursday bring the daily average to 841. The trend is thus down 11% 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 9.3%.
In addition to the cases detected by PCR tests, 309 people also reported over the weekend having tested positive on a rapid test. Self-reported cases, which are not included in daily reported cases, have decreased by 24 for a week.
Vaccination stabilizes
After a rebound, the vaccination campaign tends to stabilize. Quebec administers an average of 21,300 doses per day, as many as last week.
The pace of the campaign nevertheless made it possible to slightly increase vaccination coverage. Taking into account the fact that Public Health recommends getting vaccinated after five months, 22.0% of Quebecers currently have their vaccinations up to date. This represents an increase of 1.1 points over the past week.
