By Gordon Lambie
Friday’s update on the progression of the COVID-19 virus in Quebec brought news of 426 new cases, the largest single-day increase since numbers started to rise again. This increased the number of active cases to 2,562, although the number of hospitalizations and people in intensive care did decrease by one each, to 80 and 27 respectively.
In the Eastern Townships, Friday’s report brought news of 126 active cases spread across every sub-region except Granit. The majority of the cases were from the Sherbrooke and Haute-Yamaska regions, which accounted for 53 and 48 of the 126. Of the 48 in the Haute Yamaska, 33 were specifically from Granby. The increase in active cases has not yet translated into an increase in hospitalizations in the region, where four are in hospital due to the virus, one of whom is in intensive care. All Covid-related hospitalizations are located at either the CHUS-Fleurimont or the CHUS-Hotel Dieu in Sherbrooke
Neither the province nor the region reported any new deaths linked to the virus on Friday.
Regional and provincial public health authorities are still not providing updates on weekends, despite the recent increase in the number of cases being reported.
As of the most recent update, 74.5 per cent of the entire population of Quebec had received at least one dose of vaccine, with 85.1 per cent of the eligible population having received at least one dose, and 73.5 per cent being considered ‘adequately vaccinated.’
On the local front, 81.8 per cent of those over the age of 12 in the Eastern Townships have received a first dose, and 69.7 per cent are considered adequately vaccinated. Memphremagog is now the sub-region with the highest level of adequate vaccination, at 72.5 per cent, and the Haut-Saint-François has the most ground left to cover, at 63.6 per cent. People aged 18-29 in the Des Sources area (formerly known as Asbestos) remain the least vaccinated age group in the Townships, at 52.4 per cent for a first dose, and 36.4 per cent for a second.
