MONTREAL -- Quebec public health officials announced 226 more cases of COVID-19 on Saturday and 35 more deaths.

The province says 22 of the deaths announced Saturday were new, while 13 occurred before May 30. Those deaths were not previously announced. The total number of deaths in the province now sits at 4,970.

The total number of those who have tested positive for the virus is now 52,624. Saturday's numbers are the lowest number of new cases since March 21.

Of those positive cases, 18,412 have recovered from the illness, which is 648 more than reported Friday.

The total number of hospitalizations continued to drop with 49 fewer people receiving treatment bringing the total number of people in the province's hospitals to 981. Of those, 129 patients are in intensive care, which is two fewer people than on Friday.

Premier Francois Legault was in the Eastern Townships Friday announcing a financial package involving both subsidies and loans for small and medium-sized hotels that will be unveiled in the coming days. The money is meant to help the ailing tourism industry.