The concentration of COVID-19 in the wastewater of the main cities of Quebec is rising sharply, even exceeding the peak observed this summer.
The COVID-19 signal in Montreal’s wastewater doubled in the last week of November, the most recent data available. The measurements identified 124,000 gene copies of the virus per milliliter of wastewater. This is more than the 108,000 reported in July when the pandemic made a marked comeback in Quebec. It should be noted that the data on wastewater does not allow a comparison of the concentration in wastewater during the Omicron wave, which swept across Quebec last winter.
Montreal is not alone in observing a resurgence of COVID-19 in its wastewater. The cities of Laval and Quebec also posted strong increases similar to those observed this summer. An increase is also recorded in Gatineau, without reaching the level of the summer wave.
In addition to sewage, Quebecc reported six deaths related to COVID-19 on Wednesday, bringing the daily average calculated over seven days to nine. The trend is stable over a week.
The province also reported an increase of 15 hospitalizations on Wednesday. The 1,974 people currently hospitalized, including 51 in intensive care, represent a stable trend over one week. Of these, 647 patients were hospitalized directly due to their COVID-19 infection, the others having been admitted for another reason.
The number of people hospitalized tends to stabilize, the number of admissions being slightly higher than discharges. On average, there are four more patients every day.
The 1,718 new cases by PCR tests reported on Wednesday bring the daily average to 1,051. The trend is thus up 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 11.6%.
In addition to the cases detected by PCR tests, 250 people also reported over the weekend having tested positive on a rapid test. Self-reported cases, which are not included in daily reported cases, increased by 14% over one week.
In hospitals, the number of workers absent due to the pandemic is stable. On Wednesday, there were 3,948 absences in the health network, which is as many as a week ago.
This resurgence of COVID-19 comes as the BQ.1 variant and its sublineages, mainly BQ.1.1, take up more and more space.
Vaccination down
Meanwhile, the pace of the vaccination campaign continues to slow. Quebec administers an average of 15,500 doses per day, which is 14% less than last week.
The pace of the campaign nevertheless made it possible to slightly expand vaccination coverage. Taking into account the fact that Public Health recommends getting vaccinated after five months, 28.1% of Quebecers currently have their vaccinations up to date. This represents an increase of 0.8 points over the past week.
