MONTREAL -- Quebec reported an increase in patients receiving care for COVID-19, ICU patients and active cases in past 24 hours.

Quebec also reported Wednesday that 792 more people have tested positive for COVID-19 since the day before, bringing the total number of positive novel coronavirus cases to 294,652 since the start of the pandemic.

That number is higher than the seven-day average, which is now 712.

Of those, 277,185 are reported to have recovered from the disease, 583 more than on Tuesday.

The number of active cases in Quebec jumped by 199 Wednesday, and the Quebec Institute of Public Health is now reporting 6,964 active COVID-19 cases in the province.

Quebec also added 10 deaths due to COVID-19 to its overall total including one in the past 24 hours, five between March 3 and March 8, and four before March 3.

The province has reported 10,503 deaths due to the disease since the start of the pandemic.

Hospitalizations also increased Wednesday with the province reporting that five more people are receiving care in Quebec hospitals for a total of 581 hospitalizations. Of those, 112 people are in intensive care wards, an increase of two.

Quebec's mass vaccination campaign continued Wednesday with the province reporting that 18,101 more doses of vaccine have been administered bringing that total to 599,833 (7.1 per cent of the population). Quebec has received 852,065 doses of vaccine.

On March 8, health-care professionals analyzed 30,772 samples. (Quebec releases its testing data from two days prior to its daily updates).

REGIONAL DATA

Eleven of Quebec's 18 regions reported higher daily increases Wednesday than they did Tuesday.

Montreal reported the highest increase in cases (368 new, 109,352 total) followed by Laval (90 new, 25,504 total), Lanaudiere (71 new, 20,815 total) and Monteregie (69 new, 42,475 total).

Three deaths were reported in Montreal (4,553 total) and Monteregie (1,491 total), and two in the Eastern Townships (310 total).

One death was also reported in Laval (874 total), and the Laurentians (475 total).