MONTREAL -- Quebec health authorities reported on Wednesday the highest single-day increase of COVID-19 cases since the start of the pandemic by adding 1,514 new infections.

The province has recorded a total of 145,062 cases of the disease since it began keeping track in March. Of them, 12,740 are active.

The seven-day average of new cases in Quebec currently stands at 1,376 per day. 

Quebec also reported another 43 deaths linked to COVID-19 on Wednesday. Nine of those deaths occurred in the past 24 hours, 29 occurred between Nov. 25 and Nov. 30 and another five are from before Nov. 25. 

Two deaths were removed from the total after an investigation found they were not attributable to COVID-19. A total of 7,125 people have now died in Quebec since the start of the pandemic. 

Montreal reported the highest increase in new COVID-19 cases of any Quebec region on Wednesday, with 386 (total 51,848), followed by Monteregie, with 191 (total 20,489) and Quebec City, with 186 (total 12,083).

Montreal has renewed its state of emergency over the agglomeration for an additional five days. The city has been in a state of emergency since March 27.

The Chaudiere-Appalaches region also reported 130 new cases on Wednesday (total 5,529), Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean reported 117 (total 5,403), Laval, 104 (total 11,688) and Lanaudiere, 103 (total 11,470).

Wednesday's update saw thirteen deaths in Montreal (3,641 total); nine in Quebec City (455 total); eight in Monteregie (878 total) and three in Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean (133 total).

Two deaths were reported in the Eastern Townships (66 total) as well as the Chaudiere-Appalaches (136 total), Laval (726 total), and Lanaudiere (332 total) regions; one death was reported in Bas-Saint-Laurent (20 total) and another in the Laurentians (337 total).

Hospitalizations increased by 21 from Tuesday to Wednesday and there are now 740 people receiving treatment for COVID-19 in Quebec hospitals. Of them, 99 are in the intensive care ward, which is one more than Tuesday's total. 

As of Wednesday, 125,197 people are confirmed recovered from COVID-19 in Quebec, which is 997 more than Tuesday's total.

Quebec reported that it completed analyses of 27,373 COVID-19 samples on Nov. 30 (Quebec reports its daily testing figures from two days prior). 

With files from CTV News Montreal's Daniel J. Rowe and Luca Caruso-Moro