Quebec COVID-19 hospitalizations fall to 1,611, five new deaths reported
Quebec's health ministry is reporting another drop in COVID-19 hospitalizations Monday with 11 fewer people receiving care and four fewer people being treated in the intensive care unit.
Hospitalizations were down to 1,611 and ICU cases dropped to 51, the ministry said.
The province is also recording five new deaths related to the coronavirus, for a total of 15,284 deaths.
Another indicator points to an improving COVID-19 situation in the province: the health ministry reported 5,331 health-care workers were absent for reasons related to the virus (such as self-isolation after testing positive or awaiting test results). Seven days ago, there were 6,357 health workers reported absent.
On Saturday, Quebec became the last province in Canada to lift its face mask mandate for most indoor locations.
The province also recorded 457 people have tested positive in the last 24 hours through PCR testing, which is still reserved for high-priority groups. An additional 139 positive cases were identified through rapid antigen testing.
The positivity rate is down to 6.7 per cent and the province is monitoring 643 active outbreaks. Meanwhile, there are 11,849 active cases province-wide, which is down by more than 2,000 cases from May 13.
Health-care workers analyzed 9,529 samples on May 14.
VACCINATION UPDATE
Another 5,243 vaccine doses were administered in the last 24 hours, for a total of 19,773,206 shots given out in Quebec. An additional 331,213 doses have been given out to Quebecers outside of the province.
Most of the new shots administered in the previous day (3,887 shots) were for fourth doses, also known as "second booster shots."
So far, health-care workers have administered 7,435,318 first doses covering 91 per cent of the eligible population, 4,453,600 third doses covering 55 per cent of the population, and 1,016,947 fourth doses covering 12 per cent of the population.
The Ministry of Health no longer provides data on second doses in its daily COVID-19 update.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING | AFN rejects resolution calling for Chief Archibald's suspension
An emergency resolution before the Assembly of First Nations annual meeting to reaffirm the suspension of National Chief RoseAnne Archibald has failed in Vancouver.

Two young ER doctors quit Montreal jobs, blaming Quebec's broken health-care system and Bill 96
Two young emergency room doctors, raised and trained in Montreal, are leaving their jobs after only two years to move back to Toronto – and they say the Quebec health-care model and Bill 96 are to blame.
Tamara Lich breached conditions by appearing with fellow convoy leader: Crown
The Crown is seeking to revoke bail for Tamara Lich, a leader of the 'Freedom Convoy,' after she appeared alongside a fellow organizer in an alleged breach of her conditions.
Parade shooting suspect charged with 7 counts of murder
The man charged Tuesday with seven counts of murder for opening fire at an Independence Day parade in suburban Chicago legally bought five weapons, including two high-powered rifles, despite authorities being called to his home twice in 2019 for threats of violence and suicide, police said.
Bank of Canada's rapid rate hikes likely to cause a recession, study finds
The Bank of Canada's strategy of rapidly increasing its key interest rate in an effort to tackle skyrocketing inflation will likely trigger a recession, says a new study released Tuesday from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.
Revised CAF dress code allows for face tattoos, long hair and beards
The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) has released further details about what will and won’t be allowed under its revised dress code expected to be enforced starting this fall.
'We're all really shaken up': Father recounts reuniting with missing daughter as U.S. man is charged
The father of the Edmonton girl who was missing for nine days said he was getting ready to post another update on Facebook last Saturday when police knocked on his door.
Canada is the first country to ratify Finland and Sweden's accession to join NATO
Canada became the first country to ratify Finland and Sweden's accession protocols to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Tuesday.
Grab a seat: Passport lineups prompt Canada to urgently procure hundreds of chairs
As passport processing delays and long lineups persist at Service Canada offices, the federal government is looking to buy 801 chairs for people standing in line by the end of this week.