MONTREAL HITS DUBIOUS MILESTONE: 100,000 INFECTIONS

Montreal surpassed 100,000 reported infections Friday as the downward trend in COVID-19-related hospitalizations continued across the province. Health officials reported 984 new COVID-19 cases and 25 more deaths attributed to the novel coronavirus, including four in the past 24 hours. Officials said hospitalizations dropped by 25, to 849, and 137 patients were in intensive care, a drop of six. Hospitalizations have fallen by 120 over the past four reporting periods. Montreal remains the region with the most new, daily reported infections in Quebec, with 432 cases, for a total of 100,203. The city has recorded 4,434 deaths linked to the virus. The province says it administered 7,927 doses of COVID-19 vaccine Thursday, for a total of 280,612. Quebec has reported 274,831 infections and 10,173 deaths linked to the virus since the start of the pandemic. It has 10,657 active reported cases. Health Minister Christian Dubé warned that the spread of the variants could reverse the decline. “The trend is fragile, the arrival of the new variants could quickly change that situation.”