MONTREAL -- The province reported Sunday that 27 fewer people are receiving care in Quebec hospitals for COVID-19 than were on Saturday dropping the total number of hospitalizations to its lowest point since the beginning of 2021.

In the past week, hospitalizations have only increased one day and the total number of hospitalizations is now 1,136.

Of those in the hospital being treated for the novel coronavirus, 191 are in the intensive care ward, a decrease of 10.

Hospitalization numbers are at their lowest since Quebec reported that there were 1,075 patients receiving care for the virus Jan. 1.

Quebec reported that 1,223 more people tested positive for COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, which is 56 fewer than the seven-day average for daily cases which is now 1,279.

Since the start of the pandemic, 262,583 people have tested positive for the novel coronavirus in Quebec.

Of those, 238,648 are reported to have recovered, 1,560 more than on Saturday.

The Quebec Insitute of Public Health is reporting that there are 14,141 active COVID-19 cases in the province.

The province also reported 31 new deaths due to COVID-19 including three that occurred in the last 24 hours, 25 between Jan. 24 and Jan. 29 and three before Jan. 24.  

TESTING DATA

On Saturday, 84 vaccinations were administered bringing the total number of doses administered in Quebec to 238,227.

That number represents 2.79 per cent of the province's population.

Health-care professionals analyzed 35,372 samples Jan. 29. (Quebec releases testing data from two days prior to its daily updates).

REGIONAL DATA

The highest increases in daily cases were reported in Montreal (496 new, 94,520 total), Monteregie (271 new, 38,077 total) and Laval (136 new, 22,160 total).

Ten of the new deaths were reported Monteregie (1,338 total), eight in Montreal (4,316 total); five in the Laurentians (438 total); and three in Laval (829 total).

One death was reported in Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean (262 total), Quebec City (924 total), the Eastern Townships (276 total), Chaudiere-Appalaches (260 total), and Lanaudiere (466 total).