Quebec is reporting 2,386 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday and four more deaths linked to the virus.
The last time cases were this high was at the beginning of the year in January when a provincewide overnight curfew was put in place to control the limit the spread of the virus.
Quebec Premier François Legault told reporters in Quebec City he might reconsider his plan to ease indoor gathering limits for the holidays and that it would be irresponsible not to, given the high number of daily cases.
The statement comes just a day after Health Minister Christian Dubé said private gatherings for 20 vaccinated people would be allowed to go ahead as planned on Dec. 23.
Legault says that for now, he’s sticking with his decision to ease gathering limits because the number of COVID-19-related hospitalizations remains manageable and within the health system’s 800-bed capacity.
Quebec, however, reported another jump in pandemic-related hospitalizations on Wednesday, with 37 new patients admitted and 21 discharged for an increase of 16 in the last day. Of the 309 people in hospital, 73 are in intensive care.
As cases and hospitalizations soar, Quebec is looking to accelerate its rollout of third dose booster shots and is urging those who have yet to receive a shot, to get vaccinated.
The latest data published by Quebec’s public health institute shows that people who are not vaccinated, or less than two weeks removed from a first dose, are 14.6 times more at risk of being hospitalized due to the virus than people who are fully vaccinated.
With the rise of Omicron in Canada, Quebec health authorities have asked employers to reinstate work-from-home measures where possible until further notice.
The province is also counting on being able to distribute five free rapid tests to every person in Quebec – every 30 days for three months – starting on Monday.
To date, Quebec has recorded 471,742 infections and 444,146 recoveries bringing the number of active cases to 15,974.
The number of deaths attributable to the virus in Quebec now stands at 11,622.
— With files from The Canadian Press
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