Quebec is reporting 729 new cases and 19 additional deaths linked to the COVID-19 pandemic Wednesday as mass vaccination continues in the province.
Health authorities say two of those fatalities occurred in the past 24 hours while the others were retroactively added to the death toll from last month. One death took place at an unknown date.
The case count has reached 289,670 over the course of the pandemic while recoveries surpassed 271,000. The health crisis has claimed the lives of 10,426 Quebecers to date.
Hospitalizations dropped Wednesday by 10 to 618. Of those patients, 120 are in intensive care, a decrease of one.
The vaccination campaign saw 16,117 doses given Tuesday as the rollout ramps up for the general public, beginning with seniors. So far, the province has administered 472,710 vaccines.
Meanwhile, 28,941 tests were conducted Monday, the latest day for which screening information is available.
Quebec Premier François Legault will provide an update on the pandemic at 5 p.m. Wednesday in Montreal. He is expected to address public health restrictions and the progression of the coronavirus.
On Tuesday, the province’s health minister said officials are concerned about the spread and surge of the virus’s variants in Montreal.
There are 137 confirmed cases linked to variants and 1,220 presumptive infections as of Wednesday, according to Quebec’s public health institute.
