Deaths attributed to COVID-19 continue to increase among Quebec seniors, even though the spread of the pandemic has been declining for nearly three weeks.
Posted at 12:46 p.m.
Overall, new cases have been declining for nearly three weeks in the Quebec population. However, this is not the case among those aged 80 and over, who continue to show an increase in the spread.
This increase in this group, which is particularly vulnerable to COVID-19, is not without consequences. Daily reported deaths among seniors have nearly doubled since the beginning of October.
At the start of the month, Quebec recorded just under four deaths linked to COVID-19 per day among people aged 80 and over. However, there are now seven of them.
Three-quarters of people who have died in the past two weeks were living at home when they contracted COVID-19. Only about one in five lived in a CHSLD or in a residence for the elderly, environments that had been hard hit during the first waves.
Slight drop in cases
The provincial toll continued to show a slight downward trend in the spread. The 828 new cases reported on Wednesday bring the daily average to 828. The trend is thus down 3% over one week. These figures likely reflect only a portion of total infections, due to limited access to PCR screening tests. Moreover, the proportion of PCR screening tests proving positive for COVID-19 remains high, at 9%.
In addition to the cases detected by PCR tests, 278 people also reported over the weekend having tested positive on a rapid test. Self-reported cases, which are not included in daily reported cases, are down 16% over the past week.
The number of health network workers absent due to the pandemic is stabilizing. There were 3,715 on Wednesday.
The six new deaths reported on Wednesday bring the daily average calculated over seven days to 10.
Quebec is also reporting an increase of 16 hospitalizations on Wednesday. The 1,934 people currently hospitalized represent a stable trend over one week. In intensive care, the 45 patients represent a drop of 14% over one week.
The number of people hospitalized should remain stable over the next few days, with the number of admissions approaching discharges. On average, there are four more patients every day.
Vaccination slows down
However, the vaccination campaign has started to slow down. Quebec administers an average of 19,500 doses per day, or 11% less than last week.
The pace of the campaign nevertheless made it possible to slightly increase vaccination coverage. Taking into account the fact that Public Health recommends getting vaccinated after five months, 22.9% of Quebecers currently have their vaccinations up to date. This represents an increase of 1.1 points over the past week.
