The pressure continues to decrease on the health network in Quebec, now approaching the bar of 2600 hospitalizations. However, there are 42 additional deaths linked to the virus, while vaccination is still unable to pick up speed.
Posted at 11:01 a.m.
Updated at 11:28 a.m.
These 42 new deaths bring the daily average to 45 over a period of one week. The trend is thus down 27%.
On Thursday, there was a drop of 93 hospitalizations compared to the previous day, which translates into 193 new admissions and 286 discharges. To date, 2,637 patients are hospitalized in connection with COVID-19, of which 191 are still in intensive care, a decrease of 13 cases in this regard in 24 hours (23 entries, 36 exits). The 2,637 people hospitalized represent a 16% drop from last week. The decrease in intensive care is 19%.
On Wednesday, based on new projections from the Institut national de santé publique du Québec (INSPQ), the acting national director of public health, Dr.r Luc Boileau, however, indicated that everything leads to believe that the new relaxations announced by Quebec will lead to more transmission and, therefore, more hospitalizations in the coming weeks.
“We should not be unduly worried, but it is quite likely that the lifting of the measures will lead to more contagion, in particular with the risk in particular of seeing more hospitalizations. We must continue to reduce our contacts, ”he implored in this sense. By reiterating that he does not wish to return to the deconfinement in progress, the Dr Boileau, however, spoke of “risks” and “clouds” on the horizon.
Focus on vaccination
On the vaccination side, the campaign is still struggling to gain momentum. On Tuesday, about 47,395 additional doses were administered on Wednesday, to which are added just over 1,000 vaccines given before January 2 which had not yet been officially counted. Including people vaccinated outside the province, so far more than 18.1 million doses have been given to Quebecers.
So far, 86.2% of the general Quebec population has received one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, while 80.3% has received two. About 43.8% of Quebecers already have their three doses.
Authorities are also reporting 3,592 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, bringing the average to 3,216, down 26% over one week. However, it should be remembered that these figures are not representative of the epidemiological situation due to the limits imposed on screening, which is now reserved for certain groups of the population.
On Tuesday, Public Health nevertheless carried out 30,390 screening tests, a relatively stable figure compared to the weekly average. The positivity rate is currently 12.3%. Just over 53,850 rapid tests have so far been “self-reported” on the Legault government’s new digital platform, of which nearly 41,000 have tested positive.
According to government figures, 2,410 people, a jump of 146 from January 26, had been hired to come as reinforcements in nursing and cardio-respiratory care as of Wednesday. About 5,405 people who worked part-time have also gone full-time, a gain of 80 compared to last week.
With Pierre-André Normandin