MONTREAL -- Quebec added 594 new coronavirus cases on Monday, bringing the total number of infections since the beginning of the pandemic to 298,186.

The average daily increase in cases over the last seven days is now 713.

Recoveries outnumbered new cases, with 725 people reportedly virus-free on Monday. With a net decrease of 131, there are now 6,881 active cases of COVID-19 in Quebec.

The province also reported 10 more deaths due to the virus. Of those, two people died in the last 24 hours, six between March 8 and 13, and two before that period.

Six more people are in hospital, bringing that total to 553. Of those, 96 are in the intensive care unit, a decrease of four.

Even with the increase on Monday, hospitalizations continue to trend downwards. Over the last seven days, hospitalizations decreased at an average of five people per day. ICU cases are also dropping, at a rate of two people per day.

The province administered 26,595 doses of vaccine on Sunday, for a total of 744,108. 

Health-care workers conducted 18,464 tests on March 13. Quebec releases its testing figures 48 hours after the reported day. For the seven days prior to Saturday, the average positivity rate was 2.8 per cent. For contrast, at the end of December, the positivity rate reached a high of 11.2 per cent, according to the province. 

REGIONAL BREAKDOWN

Montreal was the most affected region, reporting 247 new coronavirus cases, for a total of 110,950 since March 2020. 

Next was Monteregie (78 new, 42,859 total), Laval (72 new, 25,919 total), and Lanaudiere (49 new, 21,708 total). 

Of the 10 reported deaths, six were in Montreal (4,570 total), three were in Monteregie (1,499 total), and one occured in Quebec City (999 total).