Eight new deaths linked to COVID-19 and 53 more hospitalizations in Quebec

MONTREAL — Quebec reported on Wednesday eight new deaths linked to COVID-19, as well as an increase of 53 hospitalizations linked to the disease compared to the previous day.

Of the eight new deaths reported on Wednesday, two occurred in the past 24 hours, three between two and seven days ago, and the other three occurred more than seven days ago, the health ministry said. The death toll linked to COVID-19 in Quebec now stands at 16,762 since the start of the pandemic.

There were 1,619 hospitalizations, including 503 due to COVID-19, an increase of 53 hospitalizations from the previous day.

There were 34 patients in intensive care, including 12 due to COVID-19, an increase of two from the previous day.

The ministry reported 1,130 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, although the number of cases listed is not representative of the situation since access to screening centers is restricted to priority clienteles.

There were 3,860 healthcare workers absent for reasons related to COVID-19.

A total of 193 rapid tests were self-reported for Monday, of which 167 were positive. The total stands at 291,814 self-reported rapid tests so far, including 244,657 positives.

On the vaccination side, 23,392 new doses were administered, for a total of 21,217,314 doses administered in Quebec to date.