Quebec’s daily COVID-19 cases continue to surge as the province reported 427 new confirmed cases on Saturday as well as five more deaths.
Officials say only two of the five additional deaths were in the last 24 hours — the other three happened between Sep. 12 and 17. The total death toll in Quebec now stands at 5,797.
The new cases bring the total of infections in the province to 67,080.
Health authorities tested 29,079 people and 28,442 test results were analyzed on Sep. 17 — the last day for which data is available — as public health continues to boost its testing capacity.
Hospitalizations are down by five from Friday for a total of 131. The number of COVID-19 patients in intensive care has gone up by one, for a total of 31.
Testing operation underway at pork factory
A major COVID-19 testing operation is underway in Quebec’s Bas-Saint-Laurent region after several positive cases were detected at a pork factory.
Regional health authorities are testing all 450 employees at Aliments Asta, a slaughterhouse in Saint-Alexandre-de-Kamouraska, 170 kilometres northeast of Quebec City.
–With files from the Canadian Press