MONTREAL -- Quebec reported Thursday that 1,624 more people have tested positive for COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of positive tests in the province to 248,860 since the start of the pandemic. 

Of the total positive tests, 221,327 people are reported to have recovered from the novel coronavirus, an increase of 1,735.

In the past seven days, the province has reported an average of 1,719 new cases per day.

The province also reported 66 more deaths due to the disease, including 22 since Wednesday, 39 between Jan. 14 and Jan. 19, four before Jan. 14 and one death that occurred at an unknown date. 

The province also removed one death from the overall total after an investigation found it wasn't attributable to COVID-19.

The total number of people who have died due to the disease in the province since the start of the pandemic is now 9,273, Quebec says. 

Since Wednesday, 14 fewer people are receiving treatment for COVID-19 in the province's hospitals bringing that total to 1,453. Of those, 216 people are in the intensive care ward, the same number as 24 hours ago.

Health-care professionals analyzed 32,845 samples Jan. 19. (Quebec releases its testing data from two days prior to its daily updates).

Quebec administered 11,950 vaccine doses on Wednesday for a total of 186,210.

REGIONAL DATA

The Island of Montreal reported the highest increase in cases with 679 new positive tests (88,926 total).

Monteregie (254 new, 35,502 total), Laval (145 new, 20,959 total), the Laurentians (254 new, 35,502 total), and Lanaudiere (102 new, 17,862 total) all reported high increases.

Montreal also reported 20 more deaths (4,151 total), while nine were reported in Quebec City (852 total) and Monteregie (1,240 total); seven in Mauricie-et-Centre-du-Quebec (422 total); five in the Eastern Townships (243 total); four in Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean (254 total) and the Laurentians (405 total); three in Lanaudiere (443 total); and two in Chaudiere-Appalaches (229 total).