MONTREAL -- READ OUR LATEST UPDATE HERE: Quebec records 1,364 new cases of COVID-19, beating daily record for second consecutive day

Public health authorities announced another record high Monday as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to surge in Quebec: 1,191 more people have tested positive for COVID-19 in the past 24 hours. That's the highest single-day total since the beginning of the pandemic.

That brings the total number of cases since the start of the pandemic to 79,650. Monday's new cases are the fourth in a row over 1,000 and come two days after it set its last record-high of 1,107 new cases on Saturday.

The highest case increases were reported in Montreal with 329 new cases (35,496 total), Quebec City with 265 new cases (5,059 total) and Laval with 173 new cases (7,681 total).

Quebec also revealed that six more people have died due to COVID-19, for a total of 5,884 since the start of the pandemic. Two of those deaths occurred in the last 24 hours, three occurred between Sept. 28 and Oct. 3 and another occurred at an unknown date.

The number of hospitalizations continues to rise with authorities reporting that 27 more people are being treated in the province's hospitals as of Monday for a total of 361. Of those, 62 people are in the intensive care ward, a decrease of two.

Health Minister Christian Dube wrote in a tweet that the strong increase in hospitalizations is alarming.
 


At 5 p.m., Quebec Premier Francois Legault will hold a COVID-19 news conference alongside Dube and public health director Horacio Arruda.

Officials say that 876 more people have recovered from the disease bringing the total number of recoveries to 66,180 or 83 per cent of the total cases.

Health-care professionals analyzed 25,203 samples Oct. 3. (Quebec releases testing data from two days prior to its daily updates).

The Quebec government announced tightened health measures Monday for schools in the 'red zone' on its regional alert map, as it adds more regions to the map. It is also putting a halt on organized team sports and closing fitness centres until Oct. 28.


This is a developing story and will be updated.