(Montreal) Hospitalizations related to COVID-19 were still on a downward slope on Thursday, but deaths continue to accumulate day after day.
Health authorities reported 15 new deaths from the disease, including two that occurred in the past 24 hours. Eleven people lost their lives two to seven days ago. Two others occurred more than a week ago.
The number of deaths linked to COVID-19 is now approaching the 18,000 mark, at 17,789.
The news is more positive on the side of hospitalizations, which have been gradually decreasing since the beginning of the week.
Quebec notes Thursday a drop of 69 hospitalizations linked to COVID-19 since the day before, for a total of 2,026 patients with the disease who end up in hospital. Among them, 693 are being treated specifically for COVID-19.
Intensive care is caring for 44 people, 23 of them due to illness. This is a decrease of four from one day to the next.
On the case side, the government has counted 756 new infections, to which must be added 41 positive cases detected by rapid tests. The number of infections is probably underestimated since the screening centers are reserved for priority clienteles.
The positivity rate has increased somewhat since the last assessment, from 8.7% to 9.6%.
The vaccination campaign was still in slow motion on Wednesday; only 6,014 Quebecers received a dose of vaccine.