With a new marked drop on Thursday, Quebec is approaching the symbolic milestone of 1,000 hospitalizations linked to COVID-19. However, the province has recorded 19 additional deaths.
Posted at 11:52
These 19 new deaths bring the daily average calculated over seven days to 13. The trend is thus down 10% over a period of one week.
On Thursday, there was a significant drop of 39 hospitalizations related to the disease in the regular care network, which stems from 63 new entries and 102 exits. To date, 1,034 patients with COVID-19 therefore remain hospitalized, 50 of whom are still in intensive care, a decrease of six cases in 24 hours on this plan (three entries, nine exits).
For the time being, these 1034 people hospitalized represent a drop of 11% compared to last week. The drop is more pronounced in intensive care, where the 50 patients represent a decrease of 27% over one week.
The authorities are also reporting 1,462 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the daily average to 1,096. The trend is thus down 3% over one week. However, it should be remembered that these figures are much less representative due to the limitations imposed on screening.
On Tuesday, Quebec also carried out only 15,663 tests, of which 9.3% turned out to be positive. So far, nearly 110,800 rapid tests have been “self-declared” on the platform of the Ministry of Health and Social Services (MSSS), of which more than 86,740 presented a positive diagnosis of the virus.
On the vaccination side, the Quebec campaign continues to tread water. On Wednesday, just 5,920 additional doses were administered. The province administers an average of 6,100 doses per day currently. To date, 86.6% of Quebecers have received at least one dose, 82.7% two doses, but only 49.5% have had their booster dose.
Quebec has also further expanded access to the antiviral Paxlovid in the population on Thursday. The antiviral drug, which reduces the risk of hospitalization of vulnerable patients, can now also be distributed in pharmacies, on presentation of a prescription from a doctor or a specialized nurse practitioner (IPS). The latest news is that Quebec received 6,300 Paxlovid treatments in January, and should receive 6,200 in February and 19,000 in March. In the United States, Paxlovid was authorized at the end of December.
The American company Moderna announced Thursday that it had obtained authorization from Health Canada to administer its vaccine to children aged 6 to 11 across the country. “Health Canada was the first regulator to fully approve our COVID-19 vaccine, and we are thrilled they have taken this important step,” Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel wrote in a letter.
With Pierre-André Normandin