Quebec reported 205 new cases of COVID-19 on Sunday, which marks its largest single day spike since June 7.
The province has now reported over 100 cases in nine straight reporting periods. Before the recent stretch, it had recorded fewer than 100 cases on 14 of its last 18 occasions.
On Aug. 25, health minister Christian Dubé said that Quebec should not go beyond 160 cases per day, which works out to about 20 cases per one million residents. It’s now eclipsed that mark on four straight occasions.
Premier François Legault on Thursday said Dubé’s statistics are “an objective,” but it doesn’t mean that the province will make an “automatic” return to lockdowns if the target is missed. If restrictions do need to be put in place, they will be imposed on sub-regions, and not the entire province.
Of the latest 205 cases, 57 were identified in Montreal, 48 in Monteregie, 32 in Quebec City and 14 in Laval.
Throughout the pandemic, Quebec has been Canada’s worst hit province with a record-high 63,497 total cases. That includes 55,871 recovered patients (up by 61 since Saturday) and 5,769 fatalities, which leaves the province with 1,857 currently infected patients — the most of any province.
Since reopening schools on Aug. 27, the province has made national headlines. On Friday, Quebec health officials released a list of 46 schools that have had a case of COVID-19 among either students or staff members throughout the first week of reopening. However, Dubé said there have been no outbreaks, and instead in most instances the school has had an isolated case involving an individual who was infected outside of the school setting.
For example, on Wednesday, health officials announced that a karaoke bar outbreak in Quebec City resulted in 40 infected patrons, leading to secondary spread among three students in three different schools.
