After a jolt during the holidays, COVID-19 seems to be on the decline in Quebec at the start of 2023. The province has observed for the past week a marked drop in the number of people hospitalized in connection with the pandemic.
On Friday, Quebec counted 1,989 people hospitalized who tested positive for COVID-19, down 7% over one week. Of these, 682 patients were hospitalized directly due to their COVID-19 infection, the others having been admitted for another reason.
The number of people hospitalized is expected to continue to decline over the next few days, with discharges outpacing admissions. On average, there are 21 fewer patients every day.
Another sign that the pressure exerted by COVID-19 is easing on hospitals, the number of workers absent due to the pandemic is in sharp decline. On Friday, there were 2,228 absences in the health network, nearly half of what was observed in mid-December.
On the other hand, the number of people succumbing to the pandemic remains high for the moment. The 12 deaths reported on Friday bring the daily average calculated over seven days to 10.
Drop in cases
The spread is also showing a sharp decline. The 636 new cases by PCR tests reported on Friday bring the daily average to 681. The trend is thus down 15% 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 9.4%.
Vaccination in slow motion
Meanwhile, the pace of the vaccination campaign has slowed since the holiday season. Quebec administers an average of barely 5,300 doses per day, down sharply from December.
The pace of the campaign is also insufficient to maintain vaccination coverage. Taking into account the fact that Public Health recommends getting vaccinated after five months, 27.5% of Quebecers currently have their vaccinations up to date, down since mid-December.
