Quebec is reporting 800 new cases and 14 additional deaths attributable to the novel coronavirus pandemic Wednesday.
Health authorities say none of those deaths occurred in the past 24-hour period. The other fatalities were added to the growing death toll retroactively from earlier in the month and one death took place at an unknown date.
The COVID-19 caseload stands at 278,987 since the crisis began last March. Recoveries have topped 259,000 in the province.
The health crisis has claimed the lives of 10,258 Quebecers to date. However, the tally was amended Wednesday to remove two deaths previously attributed to the virus after an investigation, according to health authorities.
Hospitalizations remain on the decline with a total of 766, a drop of five compared to the previous day.
Of those patients, four fewer people are in intensive care units for a tally of 130.
Quebec vaccinated 1,714 people Tuesday. So far, more than 299,000 doses of the vaccine have been given.
The province carried out 28,672 tests Monday, the latest day for which screening information is provided.
Rapid tests in the workplace
Quebec Health Minister Christian Dubé announced Wednesday that the government will make rapid COVID-19 tests available to private companies to reduce workplace outbreaks.
In a statement, he said companies that request rapid tests have to prove their workplaces are vulnerable to coronavirus outbreaks and that they follow proper infection prevention and control protocols.
Dubé explained that companies facing outbreaks can still request mobile rapid testing units that use standard PCR — polymerase chain reaction — tests, which are considered more reliable than rapid tests.
Quebec has been criticized for its slow rollout of rapid tests, which provide faster results than PCR tests and can help companies quickly detect infections and isolate them.
