Active COVID-19 cases in Quebec dip below 5,000 for first time since end of August
For the first time since the end of August, the number of active COVID-19 cases in Quebec dipped below 5,000 and the number of new daily cases continues to trend low.
On Tuesday, Quebec's public health institute (INSPQ) reported 4,907 active cases across the province. The last time they were this low was on Aug. 31 when there were 4,992 active cases.
The province also added 409 new infections in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of cases to 416,676 since March 2020.
Of the 409 new cases, 263 (64 per cent) are people who have not received two vaccine doses, while 146 are people who got their second shot more than seven days ago.
Two more people have died from COVID-19, bringing the total to 11,422 since the start of the pandemic; 400,347 people have recovered from the virus.
Hospitalizations remain mostly steady, with 17 new admissions and 16 discharges, resulting in an increase of one patient in the last 24 hours and a total of 291 hospitalizations.
Among the 17 new admissions, 13 (76 per cent) are people who don't have two shots of a vaccine, while four are people who got their two jabs more than seven days ago.
The number of people in the ICU dropped by six, with 72 people total in the intensive care.
Health officials analyzed 19,840 samples on Oct. 10 and the province is reporting a positivity rate of 2.1 per cent.
VACCINE COVERAGE
Quebec health care workers administered 4,731 vaccine doses in the last 24 hours, for a total of 13,033,734 doses given out in Quebec.
As of Tuesday, health workers have administered 6,728,567 first doses of a vaccine, which covers 78 per cent of the entire population of Quebec, or 90 per cent of the population eligible to receive a vaccine (12 years old and up).
For second doses, 6,395,449 people have been vaccinated, which covers 74 per cent of the entire population, or 85 per cent of people aged 12 and up.
VARIANT TRACKER
In the last 24 hours, 230 more cases of the Delta variant were identified in Quebec, bringing the total number of confirmed and presumptive cases to 27,714.
According to INSPQ, there are 4,299 confirmed Delta cases in the province.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories

'The only choice': Defence Department going with Boeing to replace aging Aurora fleet
The federal government is buying at least 14 Boeing surveillance planes from the United States to replace the aging CP-140 Aurora fleet, cabinet ministers announced Thursday. The deal costs more than $10.3 billion in total, including US$5.9 billion for the jets themselves, and the planes are expected to be delivered in 2026 and 2027.
Blasted by Bloc, Conservative MP apologizes for asking minister to speak English
Conservative MP Rachael Thomas has apologized after drawing criticism from other members of Parliament for asking Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge to answer questions in English at a committee meeting.
Jaw-dropping video shows collapse at Coquitlam, B.C., construction site
Emergency work is underway after a collapse at a Coquitlam, B.C., construction site that was caught on camera this week.
NHL veteran Perry apologizes for 'inappropriate' behaviour, says he is seeking help
Corey Perry says he has started seeking help for his struggles with alcohol following his release from the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks.
Filmmakers in Bruce Peninsula 'accidentally' discover 128-year-old shipwreck
Yvonne Drebert and Zach Melnick were looking for invasive mussels when they found something no one has laid eyes on for 128 years.
Israeli military confirms release of 8 more Israeli hostages from captivity in Gaza Strip
Hamas freed eight Israeli hostages Thursday in exchange for Israel's release of more Palestinian prisoners under a last-minute deal to extend their ceasefire in Gaza by another day.
On 1st day, UN climate conference sets up fund for countries hit by disasters like flood and drought
Nearly all the world's nations on Thursday finalized the creation of a fund to help compensate countries struggling to cope with loss and damage caused by climate change, seen as a major first-day breakthrough at this year's UN climate conference
B.C. man tries to appeal driving ban by claiming his designated driver crashed his Mercedes, fled the scene
B.C.'s Supreme Court has upheld a 90-day driving ban for a man who refused to give a breath sample after crashing his Mercedes into a ditch – rejecting his claim that an "unnamed designated driver" was behind the wheel and fled the scene.
Suspect arrested in Morocco could be behind Ontario bomb threats, OPP says
Investigators have 'strong reason' to believe that a suspect taken into custody in Morocco could be behind numerous bomb threats across Ontario in early November, police say.