‘I don’t like it’: Quebec Health Minister talks about spike in COVID-19 cases

Quebec reported 1,196 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday and two more deaths from the virus.

According to Institut national de santé publique du Québec data, while cases spiked above the 1,000 mark last week was on April 24 when 1,198 infections were recorded.

During Wednesday morning’s press conference, Quebec Health Minister Christian Dubé expressed his concerns.

“I don’t like it,” he said of the spike in cases.

However, he expressed some hope, explaining that the immunizations for children aged 5 to 11, started last week, are not over yet and that the third booster shots for those 70 years and older is still underway.

Of the new cases reported on Wednesday, 693 of those who were not vaccinated or were less than two weeks old dropped the first dose of the vaccine.

Dubé notes that some Quebeers are still refusing injections.

“There are 650,000 Quebecers who refuse to be vaccinated and we are facing a new variant and the onset of winter,” he said.

“My Prime Minister has asked me to focus on vaccinations and to make sure that by the time we get to Christmas we have the lowest number of cases possible.”

Since the start of the week, Quebec Premier François Legault has stated that he hopes restrictions on private indoor gatherings will be eased during the holiday period, to allow groups of 20 to 25 people. , up from 10 people.

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Legault says he wishes collection rules could be relaxed for the holidays

Opposition parties chastised Legault over his Christmas wish, accusing him of sending mixed messages and creating expectations.

However, Legault said he would proceed with caution and follow public health recommendations. An announcement is expected next week.

Pandemic-related hospitalizations also spiked on Wednesday with 28 newly admitted and 16 discharged patients out of a total of 239. Of those, 52 are in intensive care.

The latest figures show that people who are unvaccinated are 15.8 times more likely to need to be hospitalized than those who are fully vaccinated.

In the past 24 hours, 23,009 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered, bringing the proportion of the population that has received at least one shot to 81.

Up to now, the province has recorded 449,367 infections, 429,339 recovered, bringing the number of infected cases to 8,447.

The death toll related to the virus is now 11,581.

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