Hospitalizations keep rising as Quebec reports 1,535 new COVID-19 cases – Montreal Gazette

The number of patients hospitalized due to the virus has increased by 20 per cent in the last week.

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Quebec reported 1,535 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday as Montreal and Laval prepared for the return of the 8 p.m. curfew.

A total of 326,383 infections have now been confirmed in the province since the first one was reported in February of 2020.

Quebec also announced that five more fatalities had been attributed to the virus, bringing the province’s death toll to 10,742.

The number of hospitalizations due to the virus rose by 25 to 608 patients. Over the last week, the number of hospitalizations has gone up by more than 100 — equivalent to 20 per cent — to reach its highest level in more than a month.

Of the patients currently in hospital due to the virus, 139 are in intensive care — an increase of one.

On Saturday, Quebec administered 59,447 vaccine doses.

Since the start of its vaccination campaign, the province has received 2,429,695 doses of which it has administered 1,890,476.

Of the new cases Quebec reported on Sunday, 728 — or 47.4 per cent — were identified as variants.

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The number of cases confirmed by sequencing remained stable at 1,598 while the number of cases identified through screening increased by 728 to 16,173.

The Capitale-Nationale region, which has been dealing with a spike in cases, posted the most new infections in the province with 331.

Montreal reported one less case on Sunday, but its 330 new infections pushed the seven-day rolling average up to 352 — its highest point since March 1.

A total of 119,718 infections have now been confirmed in the Montreal region.