Quebec health officials announced 251 new cases of COVID-19, which marks the seventh straight day that it has reported more than 200 cases. The last time it had a similar stretch was in early June.
On Thursday, Montreal health officials announced 248 cases that should have been reported to the public between Sept. 10-15. Due to the update, it means between Sept. 13-15, the province should have announced more than 300 cases each day, a mark it had not passed since June 1. That includes an extra 90 cases for Sept. 15, which brings that day’s spike to 382 — the most cases in 24-hour stretch since June 1.
On Thursday, the province announced that 208 more people have recovered. Two more have died in its latest 24-hour stretch, but the province also added one more fatality that occurred between Sept. 10-15, increasing the death toll to 5,791. There are now 2,553 active cases throughout Quebec, the most of any jurisdiction in Canada.
The province also announced that 35 more students and eight staff members have tested positive for COVID-19. There are now 247 schools (out of 2,685) that have had a reported case, up by 10 compared to the previous day. Throughout those institutions, there are now 357 students and 96 staff members that have contracted the virus. At least 173 class bubbles so far have been sent home and asked to learn removotely, up by 32 since Wednesday’s report.
The Quebec government on Thursday decided to ban restaurants and microbreweries from selling alcohol after midnight, a rule that came into effect early this month for bars. The province also decided to provide more info on its colour-coded alert system, which was introduced Sept. 8. One of the factors that determines whether a region will change alert levels is based on its number of daily cases compared to its population size. Different enforcement measures are put in place based on the colour’s alert, such as for gatherings.
