By Gordon Lambie
In an ongoing effort to underline the significance of vaccination to those who remain skeptical, Quebec’s Health Minister Christian Dubé shared Sunday that 113 of the 135 people admitted to intensive care across the province over the previous 28 days were not considered adequately vaccinated. According to data shared by the minister, unvaccinated people are considered 8.7 times more likely to contract the virus than someone with two doses, and 25.9 times more likely to end up in hospital.
“Vaccination prevents people from putting unnecessary pressure on our health network,” Dubé wrote, encouraging people to go out and get two doses of one of the approved vaccines if they have not already.
The number of active cases of COVID-19 in Quebec climbed back up over 6,000 this weekend. On Friday the province reported 879 new cases, followed by 995 on Saturday and 757 on Sunday bringing the total number of people infected up by 2,631 in just three days.
The number of hospitalizations increased to 213 in that same time, 75 of whom were in intensive care as of Sunday’ report, and the number of deaths increased by seven, to 11,304. The number of active outbreaks being monitored across the province was 402.
The most up-to date information on the spread of the virus in the Eastern Townships, released on Friday, showed 213 active cases spread across all of the sub regions of the territory other than the Coaticook region. The highest concentration of active cases remains in Sherbrooke (78 cases) and the Haute-Yamaska region (48 cases), although significant numbers were also recorded in the Val Saint-François, Memphrémagog, and Pommeraie areas.
The number of hospitalizations increased slightly, to four with one in intensive care, but there were no new deaths linked to COVID-19 in the area. The report also noted 18 active outbreaks across the region.
Provincial vaccination rates were at 88.1 per cent for a first dose among eligible persons and 82.7 per cent for adequate vaccination as of Sunday. The Eastern Townships’ Friday report put those figures at 84.6 per cent and 79.6 per cent locally.
The next detailed update on the situation in the Eastern Townships is expected on Tuesday.
