The strong upward trend of COVID-19 continues in Quebec, as everything indicates that the threshold of 10,000 new cases of COVID-19 has been crossed in Quebec, thus shattering the previous record of 9,397 infections that had been reported Thursday.
This is what government sources confirmed to Press Friday, early in the day. In total, Quebec has identified around 10,030 infections, according to our information.
It should also be remembered, as several experts have warned in recent days, that these figures could be “underestimated”, insofar as the screening centers are overwhelmed and that several people are not necessarily managed to get tested in the last few days.
“For us, this is certainly an underestimation of reality, since many people do not necessarily manage to have an appointment for screening, and with rapid tests, we know, these cases are not not declared ”, indicated in this sense the director of public health, the DD Drouin, Thursday, when 3,668 new cases of COVID-19 were reported in Montreal alone.
Including these 10,000 new cases, approximately 42,850 new cases were identified in Quebec in the last week, or 6,121 new cases per day on average. The trend is thus up sharply, surpassing 160% over seven days.
No other data was made public Friday, the official report of the government slackening until December 28, then from December 31 to January 4, due to the holiday of the end of the year. We therefore do not know the number of hospitalizations or deaths at the moment.
As of Thursday, the number of hospitalizations had increased by 28, or 92 new admissions and 64 discharges, for a total of 473 people hospitalized to date. Of this number, there were at that time 91 people in intensive care, an increase of 3 people. These 473 people hospitalized represented an increase of 55% over one week. In intensive care, the 91 patients represented a 44% increase. The province had also reported six deaths, and the trend remains stable over seven days.
According to the latest data available, Chaudière-Appalaches remains the most affected region, with 700 active cases per 100,000 inhabitants. It is followed by Montreal, with 670 active cases per 100,000 inhabitants, and Estrie, which currently has around 585 active cases per 100,000 inhabitants.
Via his Facebook page on Thursday, the Minister of Health, Christian, Dubé again sent a message to Quebecers who are not vaccinated, as the Prime Minister, François Legault had done the day before. “If you are not yet convinced to get vaccinated with the arrival of the new variant, I do not know what to tell you. But if you don’t do it for yourself or your loved ones, at least do it to protect our health system and those who are sick. You might need it someday. Otherwise, the least you could do is stay at home to avoid spreading the virus and cluttering our hospitals, ”he wrote to them.