MONTREAL -- Quebec added 1,535 new cases of COVID-19 Sunday as hospitalizations rose for the seventh time this week.
There are 12,602 known active cases in Quebec, after 1,299 people were reported recovered on Sunday. Since the beginning of the pandemic, 326,383 people have tested positive for COVID-19, of which 303,039 have recovered.
The average daily increase is now 1,467 new cases per day.
The province also reported that five more people have died due to the disease. Of those five deaths, two occurred in the last 24 hours, one between April 4 to 8, one before that period, and another at an unknown date.
With an increase of 25 more people in hospital on Sunday, the total number of people receiving care is now 608. Of those, ICU cases increased by one, for a total of 139.
Over the last seven days, hospitalizations have increased by 15 people on average each day, two of which ended up in the ICU.
Health-care professionals administered 59,447 vaccine doses Saturday, for a total of 1,890,476.
The province also conducted 35,961 tests on April 9 (Quebec releases its testing data 48 hours after the reported day). The rolling positivity rate remained the same as Saturday, at 4,2 per cent.
QUEBEC CITY RECORDS ONE MORE CASE THAN MONTREAL
For the third time this week, Quebec City reported more COVID-19 infections than Montreal, which has long been the pandemic hotspot in the province.
Sunday's increase was 331 new cases for Quebec City (27,600 total), and 330 for Montreal (119,718 total).
Next highest was Chaudière-Appalaches (244 new, 13,936 total) and Monteregie (157 new, 45,622 total).
For the five reported deaths, two occured in Montreal (4,644 total), two more in Quebec City (1,033 total), and one in Monteregie (1,518 total).
MONTREAL, LAVAL TO RETURN TO 8 P.M. CURFEW
The 8 p.m. curfew will return to Montreal and Laval Sunday night "until further notice." Those cities will join Quebec City, Lévis, Beauce, and Gatineau, which already had the stay-at-home order starting at 8 p.m.
The Montreal and Laval change is more of a preventative measure, Premier Francois Legault said Thursday. Cases are expected to rise soon, according to public health officials.
In talking "with the doctors and experts of public health... everybody is pretty unanimous in saying 'it's coming in Montreal,'" Legault said.
Stricter measures in Quebec City, Lévis, Beauce, and Gatineau, which have been reporting record highs of COVID-19 cases, have also been extended after being put into a 10-day lockdown last week.
Their current regime of rules in those regions was set to expire Sunday. Under the extension, curfew will be at 8 p.m. and schools and non-essential businesses will remain closed until April 18.
- With reporting from CTV News Journalist Selena Ross
