MONTREAL -- As hospitalizations climb, Quebec said it has administered 2.5 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines as of Thursday while daily cases continue to hover over 1,000.

Figures released Wednesday show 1,217 more cases were added in the last 24 hours for a total of 340,397 infections since the start of the pandemic.

Of those who tested positive, 317,338 people have recovered from the infection.

With 22 more people in hospital, the total now stands at 716 hospitalizations. The number of people in the ICU rose by one for a total of 178.

There are also six new deaths due to the virus, bringing the total to 10,838. One of the deaths happened in the last 24 hours, three were between April 14 and 19, and two were reported before that period. One death was recently subtracted from the total death count since it was not attributable to COVID-19, the province said in a news release.

Active cases in the province dropped to 12,221 in the last 24 hours, while the positivity rate hovered at 3.6 per cent as of April 19, according to the The Quebec Institute of Public Health (INSPQ). 

Health-care professionals analyzed 44,311 samples April 19 (Quebec releases its testing data from two days prior to its daily updates).

VACCINATIONS

On Wednesday, the province reached a milestone of 2,503,910 vaccinations after 55,101 people received a shot of the vaccine in the last 24 hours. 

Quebec has received a total of 3,066,969 doses of vaccines.

REGIONAL BREAKDOWN

Most of the new daily cases were recorded in Montreal, with 246 new infections (total 122,902). Other regions with triple-digit new daily cases include Quebec City with 195 new cases (30,028 total), 169 in Chaudiere-Appalaches (15,635 total), 156 in Monteregie (47,029 total), and 101 in Outaouais (10,602).

Montreal recorded two new deaths (4,663 total), while there was one in Outaouais (186 total), one in Laval (898), and one in Lanaudière (507).