Quebec reported 33 new deaths associated with COVID-19 on Sunday and 1,994 new cases of the novel coronavirus.
Public health authorities said 12 of those deaths took place in the last 24 hours with the rest taking place at an earlier date. The provincial death toll now stands at 7,508.
The Health Department said there are now 880 people in hospital, up by 20 from Saturday. Of those, 123 are in intensive care, a decrease of six from the previous day.
READ MORE: Stroke emerging as a symptom of COVID-19 in new research
Quebec conducted 38,320 COVID-19 tests on Friday, the most recent day for which testing data is available. It is the highest number of tests conducted in a single day since the beginning of the pandemic. Quebec has now conducted over 4,314,810 COVID-19 tests.
The regions with the most new infections were Montreal with 748; the Quebec City area with 235, and Montérégie, south of Montreal, with 196.
The total number of people who have been infected with the virus in the province now stands at 163,915.
There are 31 private seniors residences and four long-term care centres where more than 25 per cent of residents have active cases of COVID-19, public health said on Saturday. There are a total of 149 private seniors residences and 69 long-term care centres with at least one case of COVID-19 in Quebec.
- ‘She gets to be 10’: Ontario child’s heart donated to girl the same age
- Bird flu risk to humans an ‘enormous concern,’ WHO says. Here’s what to know
- Buzz kill? Gen Z less interested in coffee than older Canadians, survey shows
- Shoppers faces proposed class action over claims company is ‘abusive’ to pharmacists
Quebec set to begin vaccinations early this week
The first shipments of the COVID-19 vaccine are slated to arrive in Canada on Sunday evening and Quebec is set to vaccinate residents of two care centres possibly as early as Monday.
The Public Health Agency of Canada says some of the 30,000 initial doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine will begin to touch down for transport to 14 distribution sites across the country starting Sunday evening, with more crossing the border via plane and truck Monday.
Front-line health-care workers and long-term care residents will be among the first to be inoculated.
READ MORE: UPS shares ‘1st images’ of coronavirus vaccine en route to Canada
Quebec plans to vaccinate residents of Maimonides long-term care centre in Montreal and Saint-Antoine care centre in Quebec City.
About 90 to 95 percent of eligible Maimonides residents have accepted to take the vaccine, said Francine Dupuis, associate CEO of Montreal’s CIUSSS West-Central regional health agency. That means between 300 and 350 residents will be inoculated.
READ MORE: Pfizer Canada head says governments, not NHL, top priority for coronavirus vaccines
Health-care workers at Maimonides will be vaccinated next, and then the remaining doses will go to health-care workers at other long-term care homes, Dupuis said. She said she expects to receive two boxes each containing 975 doses of the vaccine.
Dupuis said none of the initial doses would be set aside, as more shipments are expected to arrive to ensure people get their required second shot 21 days later.
–With files from the Canadian Press
Comments