Quebec has been recording a rapid decline in the number of people hospitalized with COVID for the past two weeks.
On Friday, the province reported a drop of 57 pandemic-related hospitalizations, for a total of 1,762 people hospitalized positive for COVID. The trend is thus down 11% over one week. Of these, 573 patients were hospitalized directly due to their infection, the others having been admitted for another reason.
Since peaking at 2,180 people hospitalized with COVID the day after the holidays, the number of infected patients has fallen by 418 in two weeks.
The number of people in hospital is expected to continue to decline over the next few days, with discharges significantly outpacing admissions. On average, there are 32 fewer patients every day.
The spread is also down sharply. The 535 new cases by PCR tests reported on Friday bring the daily average to 543. The trend is thus down 20% 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 remains high, at 8.1%.
Deaths are also decreasing, but they remain numerous. The eight deaths reported on Friday bring the daily average calculated over seven days to eight. The trend is down 27% over one week.