A few days before the holiday break, COVID-19 continues to increase its presence in Quebec. Cases, hospitalizations and deaths are on the rise, but the spread is far from that seen a year ago during the Omicron wave.
The 1,439 new cases by PCR tests reported on Wednesday bring the daily average to 1,145. The trend is thus up 9% 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 remains high, at 13.4%.
In addition to the cases detected by PCR tests, 260 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, increased by 3% over one week.
Still, the situation is far from that which prevailed on Christmas Eve in 2021. A year ago, the arrival of the Omicron variant had led to an explosion of cases. The spread had increased exponentially during the holidays, leading to a sharp increase in hospitalizations and deaths.
For now, the increase in hospitalizations and deaths is slight. The 16 deaths reported on Wednesday bring the daily average calculated over seven days to 13. The trend is up 9% over one week.
The province also reported an increase of 50 hospitalizations on Wednesday. The 2,149 people currently hospitalized, including 57 in intensive care, represent an increase of 3% over one week. Of these, 746 patients were hospitalized directly due to their COVID infection, the others having been admitted for another reason.
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 10 more patients every day.
