Quebec COVID-19 hospitalizations decrease as province preps to lift mask mandate
COVID-19 related hospitalizations are continuing to drop in Quebec, with a decrease of 17 on Thursday for a total of 1,364.
This is due to 98 patients being admitted and 115 being discharged.
Intensive care numbers dropped to 76, a decrease of six, with eight new entries and 14 discharges.
As hospitalizations decline, the province says it plans to remove face mask requirements as of mid-April.
Twenty-four new deaths were reported in the province, bringing the total to 14,040 since the pandemic began.
According to public health officials, unvaccinated individuals are currently 7.4 times more likely to be hospitalized for COVID-19 and 15.9 times more likely to end up in the ICU.
CASES AND VACCINATIONS
The Health Ministry recorded 1,257 new cases of the virus Thursday, though these numbers are much lower than the actual number of infections as PCR testing remains limited to vulnerable and priority groups.
The province is currently monitoring 593 outbreaks.
Quebec is encouraging people to declare the status of their at-home rapid tests so officials can get a clearer picture of infection levels in the province.
A total of 100,220 rapid tests have been declared since the online self-reporting portal opened.
Of that number, 78,129 positive tests have been registered. The ministry confirmed receiving 416 tests on Thursday, with 286 of them positive.
Quebec logged 7,444 more vaccine doses, including 5,241 patients who received their third shot.
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