MONTREAL -- For the third time in four days, Quebec beat its record for the highest single-day increase in COVID-19 cases on Tuesday when it reported another 2,183 across the province.
Montreal alone saw 893 cases, shattering its previous record of 786 set on Sunday.
Since the start of the pandemic, Quebec has recorded 181,276 cases of the disease. As of Tuesday, 18,809 cases are active.
The province's seven-day average currently stands at 2,000 new cases per day.
Tuesday's updated numbers also added 28 deaths to the provincial total, which now stands at 7,794. Of the latest deaths, 10 occurred in the past 24 hours, 14 are from between Dec. 15 and 20, one is from before Dec. 15 and another three are from an unknown date.
The City of Montreal has recorded 63,721 since the start of the pandemic with Tuesday's updated numbers. Monteregie also reported a high number of cases, with 337 (total 25,321), followed by Quebec City, with 219 (total 15,902), Laval, with 162 (total 14,727), and Lanaudiere, with 116 (total 13,907).
Hospitalizations in the province jumped by seven from Monday to Tuesday and there are now 1,055 people receiving treatment in Quebec hospitals. Of them, 137 are in the intensive care ward, which is nine fewer than Monday's total.
Health authorities reported that 437 doses of the Pfizer BioNtech vaccine were administered on Monday, bringing the total number to 5,273 across the province.
Another 1,804 people were confirmed recovered from COVID-19 on Tuesday, for a total of 154,673.
Quebec reported that it completed analyses of 26,130 cases of COVID-19 on Dec. 20 (Quebec reports its daily testing figures from two days prior).
QUEBEC LEADERS UNITE
The leaders of Quebec’s political parties held a joint press conference Tuesday in Montreal to underline the need for all of Quebec to work together to fight COVID-19.
Quebec’s holiday lockdown measures will be in place until Jan. 11, 2021 with a goal of flattening the curve.
“Today, the leaders of political parties in Quebec speak with one voice to show that Quebec is united against the virus,” said Legault. “Beyond partisanship, we are united around the same desire to serve Quebecers. We find ourselves at a decisive moment, and if we all come together, we will reduce the spread, because it is important not to overload our hospitals and, thus, to avoid postponing surgeries. "
The province’s leaders are asking people extra careful over the next few weeks, to respect health instructions, avoid gatherings, and take part in outdoor activities.
