COVID-19 numbers skyrocket in Quebec with 1,807 cases
Quebec reported 1,807 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, the largest single-day increase since April 9, as the province straddled the peak of its spring wave of COVID-19.
If Quebec's daily case counts continue to grow, daily infections will exceed what was recorded during the springtime coronavirus swell.
On April 9, 2021, the province reported 1,868 cases, according to Quebec's public health institute (INSPQ). It was the highest number reported since January -- as the province was coming off the winter wave, which had pushed the government to introduce strict lockdown measures, including a curfew.
On Thursday, public health reported overall hospitalizations increased by 13 to a total of 255 people receiving care.
That's after 35 more people entered hospital with COVID-19 symptoms, and 22 were reportedly no longer receiving care since Wednesday morning.
Of those in hospital, 60 are in the ICU, an overall increase of one.
One more person has been reported dead, bringing that total to 11,597.
Public health is monitoring 940 active outbreaks and 12,085 active cases within the province.
Thursday's update was based on 36,620 analyzed tests. The positivity rate was 4.2 per cent.
Note: Thursday's total of 1,807 cases is slightly lower than what was previously reported to CTV News by a source within the health ministry, who said the province had logged 1,821 new cases.
HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF KIDS GET THEIR SHOTS
As of Wednesday morning, public health says 221,126 Quebec children aged five to 11 had gotten their first doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, and 82,180 had an appointment to get theirs soon.
That's about one in three children in that age group who have their first shot, including 14,000 doses that were administered within that demographic Wednesday.
As of Thursday morning, 81 per cent of eligible Quebecers (aged five and up) have been fully vaccinated, and 87 per cent have gotten at least one dose.
As for third, or "booster" shots, four per cent have received one, the majority of whom are newly eligible people aged 70 and up.
Of Thursday's 1,807 cases, 960 of those infections were dicovered among people who had gotten their first dose less than two weeks prior, or never got a shot at all.
That group also accounted for 20 of the 35 new hospitalizations.
Public health says unvaccinated people are 3.2 times more likely to catch COVID-19, and 15.8 times more likely to end up in hospital after getting sick.
QUEBEC POLICE TO UP EFFORTS OVER HOLIDAYS
Quebec's Public Security Minister Genevieve Guilbault announced Thursday morning police across the province have been advised to crack down on violations of health measures over the holidays.
Police have been instructed to pay close attention to restaurants and bars in particular, the minister said, to ensure owners are keeping track of their clients' vaccine passports.
"It is important to maintain safe behavior during the holidays, for our health and to get us out of this pandemic as quickly as possible," said Guilbault in a press release.
"Increased interventions" are set to take place during the holiday period, particularly on Dec. 9-11 and 16-18.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
"It's a bit of a complicated pattern; we've got a lot going on," said Jennifer Smith of the Meteorological Service of Canada in an interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. "[As is] typical with weather, all of these things are related."
Boeing's financial woes continue, while families of crash victims urge U.S. to prosecute the company
Boeing said Wednesday that it lost US$355 million on falling revenue in the first quarter, another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft manufacturer as it faces increasing scrutiny over the safety of its planes and accusations of shoddy work from a growing number of whistleblowers.
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.