Quebec has once again passed the milestone of 2,000 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 as the toll from the pandemic continues to rise, with the province reporting 22 new deaths on Monday.
The 22 deaths reported on Tuesday bring the daily average calculated over seven days to 11. This heavy toll is not due to a catch-up in data entry, since 19 of the 22 new deaths occurred during the last week.
The province reported Tuesday an increase of 40 hospitalizations over the weekend. The 2,021 people currently hospitalized, including 63 in intensive care, represent an increase of 3% over one week. Of these, 673 patients were hospitalized directly due to their COVID-19 infection, the others having been admitted for another reason.
Quebec had briefly passed over the threshold of 2,000 people hospitalized in mid-October, but the situation has since improved. However, the recent increase in cases is once again increasing the pressure on the hospital network.
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 nine more patients every day.
The spread continues to increase. The 1,217 new cases by PCR tests reported on Tuesday bring the daily average to 1,108. The trend is thus up 18% 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 11.1%.
In addition to the cases detected by PCR tests, 283 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 14% over one week.
