Quebec saw another uptick in patients hospitalized with COVID-19 on Thursday as the province reported 38 new deaths linked to the disease.
Pandemic-related hospitalizations stood at 2,405, a rise of 24 compared with the previous day. This comes after 243 admissions and 219 discharges.
Health authorities say 88 people were in intensive care units, a decrease of 13.
The province recorded 2,909 new novel coronavirus cases — but the daily tally only accounts for infections detected by PCR testing, which is limited to certain groups.
On that note, 21,532 tests were given at government-run screening sites.
Officials say the results of 1,008 rapid tests were declared by Quebecers in the latest update. Of those, 817 were positive for the virus.
The province administered 43,070 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine in the past 24-hour period. More than 19.2 million shots have been issued over the course of the campaign.
Meanwhile, 10,932 health-care workers were absent for work due to reasons related to the health crisis.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, Quebec has seen a total of 1,026,345 official cases and 14,778 deaths. Recoveries topped 983,000 in the latest roundup.
Luc Boileau, the province’s interim public health director, announced on Thursday afternoon that the province’s mask mandate would be extended again, this time to the middle of May.