MONTREAL -- After recent high daily case numbers raised the seven-day average from 853 to 1,081 cases per day in a week, Quebec reported 1,154 new positive COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours on Sunday.

The total number of infections since the start of the pandemic is now 316,112, including 295,453 recoveries, an increase of 893 from Saturday.

The Quebec Institute of Public Health (INSPQ) reports that there were 9,966 active novel coronavirus cases in the province on April 3, which dropped from the 10,139 reported April 2. (Quebec gives its active case data from the day before its daily updates). 

The province also reported nine more deaths due to the novel coronavirus, including one in the past 24 hours, seven between March 28 and April 2, and one at an unknown date. 

Since the pandemic began, Quebec has reported 10,693 deaths due to COVID-19.

The province says that one more person is receiving care in a Quebec hospital for COVID-19 bringing the total number of hospitalizations to 502. Of those, 128 people are in intensive care wards, an increase of four.

Vaccinations in the province surpassed 1.5 million on Sunday with the province reporting that 41,073 more vaccine doses have been administered for a total of 1,529,541. Since the campaign began, 18 per cent of Quebec's population has received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose.

On April 2, 28,542 samples were analyzed. (Quebec releases its testing data from two days prior to its daily updates).

REGIONAL DATA

Just two regions in Quebec - Chadiere-Appalaches (136 new, 12,715 total) and the Lower Laurentians (48 new, 18,048 total) - reported more new COVID-19 cases on Sunday than they did on Saturday. 

Other regions that reported three-digit daily increase numbers were Montreal (302 new, 117,251 total), Quebec City (239 new, 25,191 total), Outaouais (118 new, 8,052 total), and Monteregie (118 new, 44,713 total).

The new deaths due to the novel coronavirus were reported in Quebec City (three new, 1,021 total), the Lower Laurentians (two new, 487 total), Bas-Saint-Laurent (one new, 30 total), Montreal (one new, 4,629 total), Chaudiere-Appalaches (one new, 291 total) and Monteregie (one new, 1,513 total).

COVID-19 VARIANTS

The number of confirmed COVID-19 variants did not increase Sunday remaining at 1,592, but the number of suspected variants surpassed 10,000 when the INSPQ added 779 cases (10,337 total). 

Quebec health minister Christian Dube expressed concern over rising COVID-19 numbers in three regions on Sunday, as the number of cases confirmed or believed to be linked to contagious variants soared past the 10,000 mark.

Dube said on Twitter that he's worried about case numbers in the Quebec City, Chaudiere-Appalaches and Outaouais regions.

"Despite an appearance of stability in Quebec, some regions are experiencing a concerning (rise) in new cases," he wrote.