Quebec sets high mark for daily COVID-19 testing

Hospitalizations and intensive-care admissions are on the rise in Quebec.

The number of people in hospitals due to COVID-19 jumped by 18 to reach 208, according to statistics made public by the province on Thursday.

Among those in hospital, 18 were in intensive care — double the number reported the previous day.

Quebec reported a total of 122 new cases of COVID-19 and one additional death.

The province also made a change to the data it made public Wednesday, blaming the adjustment on a technical glitch related to a new computer system. It said the number of cases should have been 112 instead of 176. And two deaths should have been reported instead of one. That means Wednesday’s number of new cases was not the highest in a week — it was the lowest in more than two weeks.

The province conducted 17,283 tests Tuesday, the last day for which screening data are available. That’s the most Quebec has done in a day.

Via Twitter, Health Minister Christian Dubé focused on the testing number. “It’s encouraging, we’re continuing our work,” he tweeted. Quebec hasn’t held a news conference about the pandemic since Monday.

Quebec’s College of Physicians is reminding its members that doctors’ notes allowing individuals not to wear face masks only be issued for valid medical reasons.

The college reiterated its policy in reply to members who sought guidance after they received requests from individuals seeking face-mask exemptions on ideological grounds.

In Quebec, it’s mandatory to wear a face mask at all indoor public venues as well as on all public transit systems.

However, the regulation has been criticized, the opposition coming most recently in the form of public demonstrations in Montreal and Quebec City. But the College’s position is clear.

“It is required at all times that a physician abstain from providing anyone for any reason a medical certificate or written or verbal information they know to be inaccurate,” the college announced.

The college noted also that there are very few medical conditions that justify an exemption from wearing a face mask for reasons of prevention and that the provincial Health Ministry has the final say on what those conditions are. Montreal Gazette/presse Canadienne