MONTREAL -- Quebec reached a grim milestone Sunday when the province surpassed 10,000 deaths due to COVID-19 as 32 new deaths were added to the overall total.

Premier Francois Legault reported the first COVID-19 death March 18, 2020 when 82-year-old Mariette Tremblay died in a nursing home in Lanaudiere. The province has now reported that 10,031 people have died due to the novel coronavirus.

Of the deaths reported Sunday, six occurred in the past 24 hours, 23 between Jan. 31 and Feb. 5, two before Feb. 5, and one occurred at an unknown date.

The province also reported that 1,081 more people have tested positive for COVID-19 in the past 24 hours bringing the total number of positive cases in the province to 270,058 since March, 2020.

The number is just above the seven-day average for new daily cases, which is now 1,068 cases per day.

Of those who tested positive, 248,112 are reported to have recovered from the disease, 1,417 more than on Saturday.

The Quebec Institute of Public Health reports that there are 11,915 active COVID-19 cases in the province.

Quebec reported its sixth straight day of declining numbers of hospitalizations Sunday when the province said 19 fewer patients are receiving treatment in Quebec hospitals than were on Saturday for a total of 963 hospitalizations.

Intensive care ward patient numbers have not risen since Jan. 26, and on Sunday, the province reported another drop in ICUs with one fewer person receiving care in an ICU for a total of 158.

On Saturday, 2,033 vaccinations were administered bringing that total to 256,550 (2.6 per cent of the population).

Health-care professionals also analyzed 35,652 samples Feb. 5.

REGIONAL DATA

Montreal's reported 476 new cases Sunday (97,995 total) followed by Monteregie (188 new, 39,324 total), and Laval (113 new, 22,886).

The Laurentians reached a grim milestone when the region surpassed 15,000 COVID-19 cases reporting 73 new (15,072 total).

Of the 32 new deaths reported, 13 were reported in Montreal (4,378 total); seven in Quebec City (953 total); four in Monteregie (1,392 total); and two deaths were reported in Mauricie-et-Centre-du-Quebec (474 total), Chaudiere-Appalaches (272 total), and Laval (848 total).

The majority of the province's 10,031 deaths have been in Montreal, Quebec City and Monteregie (6,723 or 67 per cent).