Quebec reported an increase of 105 hospitalizations on Sunday for a record total of 3,300 people receiving treatment for the illness caused by COVID-19.
The province also announced 21 more virus-related deaths.
Health data shows that seven more people were admitted to intensive care for a total of 282 ICU patients.
Sunday’s hospitalization figure sets another record in the province.
Another 5,946 cases of COVID-19 were reported, though officials warned the true number is likely to be much higher because testing is restricted to high-risk priority groups.
Sunday’s test positivity rate was back at 13.1 percent; 39,806 COVID-19 PCR tests were administered. There are currently 1,590 active outbreaks in the province.
READ MORE: Omicron FAQ: Everything you need to know about the COVID-19 variant
Earlier this week, health officials suggested that COVID-19 cases in the province appeared to have peaked or may soon peak, and that hospitalizations could follow suit in the coming days.
But this weekend, the number of patients admitted to the hospital showed no signs of slowing down. A local health authority representing eastern Montreal said Saturday that it may have to go beyond the current highest level of service reduction, known as Level 4.
Valerie Lafleur, spokesperson for CIUSSS de l’Est-de-l’Ile-de-Montreal, said 28 percent of the total available hospital beds in the region were occupied by COVID-19 patients. She said the region would move to Tier 5 if that number reaches 30 percent.
Health authorities said last week that under Level 4, elective surgeries and serious procedures that should be done within several months, such as heart and cancer-related surgeries, could be postponed.
Hospitals at that level are carrying out 20 to 50 percent of their normal medical procedures to make room for COVID-19 patients, the health minister said earlier this week.
Officials have not specified which services would be further reduced under Tier 5.
Sunday marks the last night of the province-wide curfew and the last Sunday that non-essential shops must remain closed. In-person learning will resume on Monday for primary and secondary school students across the province.
– with archives from The Canadian Press
See link »
© 2022 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
Reference-globalnews.ca