Quebec is reporting more than 1,000 new daily COVID-19 infections for the first time since mid-February.
Health officials reported 1,009 cases on Saturday and eight more deaths attributed to the novel coronavirus, including two in the past 24 hours.
Officials say hospitalizations remained stable at 481, and 108 people were in intensive care, a drop of seven from Friday.
Despite the rise in cases over the last few days, the government says it reached the milestone of vaccinating 75 per cent of people aged 80 and over with at least one dose of vaccine.
The province says it administered 53,796 doses of the vaccine on Friday, for a total of 1,176,670.
READ MORE: Quebec health minister says daily increase in COVID-19 cases was ‘expected’
Quebec has reported a total of 307,394 COVID-19 infections and 10,645 deaths linked to the virus. It currently has 7,617 active reported cases.
Quebec Health Minister Christian Dubé said in a tweet on Friday that the increase in the number of daily infections was not unexpected.
“What matters to us is that this increase in cases does not translate into an increase in hospitalizations, like in January,” he said, adding that he continues to monitor the situation on a daily basis.
As of Friday, Montreal gyms have been allowed to reopen and places of worship with enough space are allowed to accommodate up to 250 people.
–With files from The Canadian Press and Annabelle Olivier, Global News
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