Quebec is reporting 1,754 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday as the province continues to see a surge in its daily case count.
Authorities say 13 more virus-related deaths were added to the toll, including two in the last 24 hours. Hospitalizations rose by 14 to 583, and 138 people are in intensive care — an increase of four.
Montreal led the way with 428 new COVID-19 infections, followed by Quebec City with 410 and the Chaudière-Appalaches region with 220 new infections.
There are now 12,371 active cases in the province.
The province says it administered 73,023 doses of the vaccine on Friday — setting another daily inoculation record — for a total of 1,829,011.
Health officials say over 21 per cent of the population in Quebec has received a first dose since the immunization campaign began.
This comes as Premier François Legault announced restrictions are being tightened in Montreal and Laval with the reinstatement of the 8 p.m. curfew as of Sunday. It will be maintained until further notice.
READ MORE: COVID-19: Confusion, frustration in Montreal area as people prepare for second 8 p.m. curfew
Legault said that while both places have not seen an explosion of cases, the high population density makes them much more vulnerable in terms of the spread of the virus — especially as the province grapples with the highly contagious variants.
“The level of contagion is very high and we expect it to accelerate even more,” Legault said. “If it starts to explode, it could rapidly create big problems in our hospital.”
Quebec has reported a total of 324,848 COVID-19 infections since the beginning of the pandemic and 10,737 deaths linked to the novel coronavirus. Over 301,740 infected people have recovered.
–with files from Annabelle Olivier, Global News and the Canadian Press