Quebec reports highest daily COVID-19 increase since start of pandemic

Quebec public health is reporting the province’s highest daily COVID-19 increase since the pandemic began in March.

According to the Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux, 2,247 new coronavirus cases have been added to Quebec’s total along with 74 virus-related deaths.

Of the newly-added deaths, 11 have occurred over the past day, 56 have occurred between December 16 and December 21, five from earlier in December and two from an “unknown date.”

The number of hospitalizations has increased by 12 since Tuesday, totalling 1,067 across Quebec. Of the hospitalizations, 142 are in intensive care.

Since Tuesday, 1,891 doses of the Pfizer vaccine have been administered for a total of 7,229.

Total coronavirus cases in the province have now reached 183,523, along with 7,867 deaths.

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Public health also reports 2,262,203 negative cases, with 156,275 being deemed “recoveries.”

The new data was reported by hospitals and public health officials on Tuesday, December 22, at 6 pm.

Despite the uptick in cases, public health says “the spread of COVID-19 is under control in Quebec,” but cites the next few weeks as “critical.”

The distribution of deaths in Quebec, by age group, is as follows:

The distribution of provincial cases per age group is as follows:

Public health advises people to frequently wash their hands, use alcohol-based sanitizers, wear face masks in public, respect the maximum 10-person limit for indoor gatherings, and limit their social bubbles.

Canada’s COVID-19 death toll is now 14,425, with 521,509 total cases.