MONTREAL -- Quebec reported Thursday that 1,121 more people have tested positive for COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of infections in the province to 273,847 since the start of the pandemic. 

Of those, 252,651 people are reported to have recovered from the diseased, 1,031 more than Wednesday.

The number of active cases in the province rose for the first time in over a month, with the province reporting 53 more active cases for a total of 11,047.

In addition, the province added 37 deaths due to the disease including eight in the past 24 hours, 25 between Feb. 4 and Feb. 9, and four before Feb. 4.

Since March, 10,149 people are reported to have died due to COVID-19. 

Hospitalizations dropped below 900 for the first time since Dec. 13, when 890 COVID-19 patients were in the province's hospitals receiving treatment. 

Thursday, the province announced that 874 people now being treated for the novel coronavirus, 44 fewer than on Wednesday. Of those, 143 people are in the intensive care ward, a decrease of five.

Health-care professionals administered 5,409 doses of vaccines Wednesday, 2,235 more than the 3,174 doses administered Tuesday. Since the start of the vaccination campaign, 272,332 doses have been administered in the province (2.8 per cent of the population).

On Feb. 9, 32,207 samples were analyzed in Quebec. (Quebec releases its testing data from two days prior to its daily updates).

REGIONAL DATA

Of the new cases reported in Quebec, 503 were reported in Montreal (99,771 total), 170 in Monteregie (39,913 total) and 118 in Laval (23,236 total).

Just four regions in the province reported a decrease in daily cases from Wednesday to Thursday.

Of the new deaths, 18 were reported in Montreal (4,424 total); six in Monteregie (1,421 total); five in Quebec City (960 total); three in the Eastern Townships (291 total) and the Laurentians (457 total); and two in Mauricie-et-Centre-du-Quebec (484 total).