Quebec broke its record for the number of new COVID-19 cases in a 24-hour period this weekend when officials reported 1,480 new cases on Saturday, the same day that the total number of deaths passed 7,000. Meanwhile, on Sunday, the total number of cases climbed over 140,000.
This morning, health authorities reported another 1,333 more cases of COVID-19, bringing the total in the province since the start of the pandemic to 142,371. Officials also reported another 23 deaths related to the disease in Quebec. Eight of them took place in the last 24 hours.
“The situation seen over the few days is worrying,” Health Minister Christian Dubé wrote on Twitter.
“I remind you that we must continue to respect all measures and limit our contacts to reduce the number of cases. We need everyone’s collaboration.”
The province's seven-day average hovers around 1,309 new cases per day.
The City of Montreal reported the highest number of new cases out of any Quebec region on Monday, with 400 (total 51,156), followed by Monteregie, with 165, Quebec City, with 162, Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, with 116 and Lanaudiere, with 106.
It’s the third day in a row that Montreal has registered at least 400 infections.
There are now 693 people hospitalized in Quebec because of COVID-19. Of them, 94 are in the intensive care ward.
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Overall, all of Canada continue to struggle in flattening the curve as the number of active COVID-19 cases in Canada has more than doubled this month. According to Dr. Theresa Tam, the most recent infection rates indicate Canada is on track to hit as many as 10,000 new cases a day in December.
"If we continue on the current pace, our longer-range models continue to forecast significant increases in daily case counts and estimate that there could be up to 10,000 cases reported daily by mid-December," Tam said in a written statement.
"Right now, we have a window of opportunity to act collectively together with public health authorities to bring the infection rate down to a safer trajectory."
