MONTREAL — Quebec is reporting 806 new COVID-19 cases today and a sharp increase in the number of patients in intensive care.
Health officials say hospitalizations dropped by 25, to 655, but the number of intensive care patients jumped by 10, for a total of 130.
Officials are also reporting 17 more deaths attributed to the novel coronavirus, including five that occurred in the past 24 hours.
The number of suspected cases of coronavirus variants identified through screening rose by 118, to 602; the number of confirmed cases remains unchanged at 23.
Officials say the province administered 8,807 doses of COVID-19 vaccine on Tuesday, for a total of 376,910 since the campaign began. About 3.9 per cent of Quebec's population has received a first dose.
Montreal health officials are providing an update on the COVID-19 situation in the city later today, one day before Quebec residents aged 85 years and older can register for vaccine appointments, which are scheduled to begin next week.
Quebec has reported a total of 284,472 infections and 10,346 deaths linked to the virus. There are 7,988 active reported COVID-19 cases in the province.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 24, 2021.
The Canadian Press
