Quebec logs 20 new COVID-19 deaths, hospitalizations up by nearly 40

Quebec recorded 20 new deaths attributed to COVID-19 and a 38-patient increase Tuesday.

The number of people hospitalized with the disease came to a total of 1,153. This comes after 135 patients were admitted in the last day while 97 left.

Of pandemic-related hospitalizations, 63 are Quebecers in intensive care units. This is a rise of 10 in the past 24-hour stretch.

The province reported 2,171 new cases of the novel coronavirus, but this is only a partial picture of the current situation since PCR screening is limited to certain groups.

Health authorities say 13,139 tests were administered at government-run sites Sunday, the most recent day for which that information is available.

Meanwhile, the results of 1,617 rapid tests were declared on the province’s online portal. This includes 1,347 results positive for the virus.

The COVID-19 immunization campaign provided another 4,287 doses of the vaccine Monday. More than 18.6 shots have been given to date.

Quebec has reported a total of 961,383 official cases since 2020. The death toll related to health crisis reached 14,345 on Tuesday.

The latest roundup put the number of recoveries at 927,579.

Quebecers over the age of 80, those who live in high-risk settings such as seniors homes and long-term care homes, and immunocompromised people became eligible Tuesday for a fourth dose of COVID-19 vaccine.

— with files from The Canadian Press