The number of COVID-19 hospitalizations continues to decline, but deaths attributed to the pandemic remain high. Meanwhile, vaccination continues to slow down.
Posted at 11:57 a.m.
The 14 new deaths reported on Friday bring the daily average calculated over seven days to 11. The trend is up 33% over one week. On the other hand, part of this assessment is due to a delay in the transmission of information on these deaths. Indeed, 6 of the 14 deaths occurred more than a week ago.
Quebec also reported a sharp drop of 68 hospitalizations on Friday. The 1,762 people currently hospitalized represent a decrease of 8% over one week. In intensive care, the 40 patients represent a drop of 26% 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 21 fewer patients every day.
The number of healthcare workers absent due to the pandemic is declining. There were also 3,633, down 5% over one week.
The 739 new cases reported on Friday bring the daily average to 786. The trend is thus down slightly over one week. These numbers likely reflect only a portion of total infections, due to limited access to PCR testing.
In addition to the cases detected by PCR tests, 272 people have also reported in the past few days having tested positive on a rapid test. Self-reported cases, which are not included in daily reported cases, are up slightly from last week, but the trend appeared to be slowing.
Vaccination still in decline
The vaccination campaign continues to slow down. Quebec administers an average of 16,800 doses per day, or 11% less than last week.
Despite its slowdown, the pace of the campaign nevertheless made it possible to increase vaccination coverage. Taking into account the fact that Public Health recommends getting vaccinated after five months, 24.3% of Quebecers currently have their vaccinations up to date. This represents an increase of one point over the past week.
