The rise in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations continues in Quebec as the province reports 14 new deaths.
Posted at 1:56 p.m.
The 14 new deaths reported on Friday bring the daily average calculated over seven days to eight. The trend is down 17% over one week.
Quebec is also reporting an increase of eight hospitalizations on Friday. The 1,671 people currently hospitalized represent an increase of 7% over one week. In intensive care, the 42 patients represent an increase of 5% over one week.
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 15 more patients every day.
The number of workers absent due to the pandemic increased by 17% compared to last week. They were 3864 Friday to have to isolate themselves.
The 886 new cases reported on Friday bring the daily average to 852. The trend is thus up 13% over one week. These numbers likely reflect only a portion of total infections, due to limited access to PCR testing.
In addition to the cases detected by PCR tests, 474 people have also reported in recent days having tested positive on a rapid test. Self-reported cases, which are not included in daily reported cases, have increased by 23% over the past week.
The pace of the vaccination campaign increases slightly. Quebec administers an average of 19,900 doses per day, or 6% more than last week.
The rate of vaccination still does not allow an increase in vaccination coverage in Quebec. Taking into account the fact that public health recommends getting vaccinated after five months, only 20.3% of Quebecers have their vaccination up to date.
These are mainly people over 70 who are up to date with their vaccinations. In this group particularly at risk for COVID, 53.2% received a vaccine in the last five months. Vaccination coverage for this group has been declining for a month, when it was nearly 75% at the end of August.
