MONTREAL -- In its highest daily toll since the beginning of June, Quebec public health reported 244 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday -- bringing the total number of cases in the province since the start of the pandemic to 64,707.
Health authorities also reported six more deaths in the province, four of which occurred before Sept. 5 and another two that took place between Sept. 5 and 10, for a total of 5,780.
Montreal is reporting an increase of 55 cases of the disease over the past 24 hours, bringing the city's total to 30,379.
There are now 125 people being treated for COVID-19 in Quebec hospitals, an increase of two from the number reported on Friday. Of them, 16 are in intensive care, which is an increase of four from the number reported 24 hours earlier.
As of Saturday, 57,054 people are confirmed recovered from COVID-19 in Quebec, which is 211 more than the 56,843 reported on Friday.
Quebec regions labelled yellow on the province's new regional alert system as of Saturday are Quebec City, the Eastern Townships, Outaouais and Laval. Premier Francois Legault asked police forces to prioritize these areas when cracking down on those who defy the province's mask rules. As of Saturday, those who don't wear masks in closed public spaces or on public transit will be subject to fines ranging from $400 to $6,000.
The province reported that it completed analyses of 25,692 COVID-19 tests on Sept. 10, which is 290 less than the 26,252 it analyzed a day earlier (Quebec reports its daily testing figures from two days prior).
