Hospitalizations linked to COVID-19 continue to increase in Quebec while vaccination is gradually slowing down.
The province reported an increase of 63 hospitalizations on Tuesday. The 1,876 people currently hospitalized represent an increase of 11% over one week. Of these, 573 patients were hospitalized directly due to their COVID-19 infection, the others having been admitted for another reason. In intensive care, the 51 patients represent a 21% increase over one week.
The number of people in hospital is expected to continue to rise over the next few days, with the number of admissions outpacing discharges. On average, there are 25 more patients every day.
The two deaths reported on Tuesday bring the daily average calculated over seven days to five. The trend is down 63% over one week.
Again on Tuesday, the Ministry of Health cannot report the number of new cases detected by PCR tests due to the strike by professionals at the National Institute of Public Health of Quebec.
On the other hand, in addition to the cases detected by PCR tests, 228 people also reported during the weekend having obtained a positive result from a rapid test. Self-reported cases, which are not included in daily reported cases, are down slightly by 4% over one week.
In hospitals, the number of workers absent due to the pandemic is falling sharply. On Tuesday, there were 2,738 absences in the health network, or 17% less than a week ago.
Vaccination slows down
Meanwhile, the pace of the vaccination campaign is gradually slowing down. Quebec administers an average of 18,200 doses per day, or 6% less than last week.
The pace of the campaign nevertheless made it possible to maintain vaccination coverage. Taking into account the fact that Public Health recommends getting vaccinated after five months, 27.1% of Quebecers currently have their vaccinations up to date. This represents an increase of 1.2 points over the past week.
