Quebec reported 2,386 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday and four more deaths related to the virus.
The last time cases were this high was at the beginning of the year in January, when a nightly curfew was established throughout the province to control the limit of the spread of the virus.
Quebec Prime Minister François Legault told reporters in Quebec City that he might reconsider his plan to lower indoor meeting limits for the holidays and that it would be irresponsible not to do so given the high number of daily cases.
The statement comes just one day after Health Minister Christian Dubé said private meetings for 20 vaccinated people would be allowed to take place as planned on December 23.
Legault says it is sticking to its decision to ease collection limits for now because the number of COVID-19-related hospitalizations remains manageable and within the health system’s 800-bed capacity.
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‘There’s still time’: Quebec’s health minister calls for vaccination as COVID-19 cases rise
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 hospitalized, 73 are in intensive care.
As cases and hospitalizations rise, Quebec is looking to accelerate the launch of the third-dose booster vaccines and is urging those who have not yet received a vaccine to get vaccinated.
The latest data published by the Quebec Public Health Institute shows that people who are not vaccinated, or who withdraw in less than two weeks from the first dose, have a 14.6 times higher risk of being hospitalized due to the virus than those people who are fully vaccinated.
With the rise of Omicron in Canada, Quebec health authorities have asked employers to reinstate work-from-home measures whenever possible until further notice.
The province also has the ability to distribute five free rapid tests to each person in Quebec, every 30 days for three months, starting 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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