Quebec has reported more than 8,000 new COVID-19 cases in the past day.

On Wednesday, the Ministère de la Santé et des Services Sociaux reported 8,351 new COVID-19 cases in Quebec. The total number of cases in the province has increased to 766,927 since the pandemic began.

Public Health has also added 52 additional virus-related deaths over the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of COVID-19-related deaths in the province to 12,080.

There are 2,877 people hospitalized in the province, an increase of 135 compared to the previous day.

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The total number of Intensive Care Unit (ICU) patients has increased by eight over the past 24 hours, totalling 263 across the province.

Over the past day, 111,033 COVID-19 vaccines were administered in the region. Since December 2020, 15,964,285 total vaccines have been distributed in Quebec.

On Tuesday afternoon, the Quebec government announced a new initiative to charge unvaccinated people in the province a “health contribution.”

Legault says the exact amount has not been decided, and he won’t charge adults who have a valid medical exemption.

When asked whether this type of fee is legal and how much fines could be, Legault neglected to respond to the legality of the new initiative, only covering how much the fines could be.

As of January 12, Quebecers 35 years old and up can book booster shot appointments via the Clic Santé website — only if they have already received their second dose of a Health Canada-approved vaccine at least three months prior.

Public Health promises not to impose passport modifications before everyone has the chance to receive a third vaccine dose.