MONTREAL -- Montreal may hit 25,000 COVID-19 cases by the end of the week -- with 24,611 cases reported as of Wednesday.

That’s an increase of 223 cases from the day before.

The city is also marking 2,624 deaths from the virus as of Wednesday, an increase of 40 from the day prior.

There were fewer new cases but more deaths reported than on Tuesday when there were 272 cases and 26 new deaths.

The city’s elderly population has by far been hit hardest with COVID-19, with 26 per cent of cases and 73 per cent of deaths people 80 years and older.

The borough of Montreal North is still far and away the hardest-hit area of the city, with 2,287 confirmed cases of COVID-19, the most of any of the city's boroughs. The borough also has the highest incidence of COVID-19 in Montreal, with 2,715 cases per 100,000 residents. For comparison, the next highest rate of cases is neighbouring Riviere-des-Prairies-Pointe-aux-Trembles with 1,826 cases per 100,000 -- or 1,949 actual cases.

With 304 deaths related to COVID-19, the east-end Montreal borough of Mercier-Hochelaga-Maisonneuve remains the borough with the most fatalities linked to the disease.

As of Wednesday, there are COVID-19 outbreaks in 170 CHSLDs on the Island of Montreal.