Quebec reports 6,783 new COVID-19 cases, 110 additional deaths since December 24

MONTREAL — Quebec Health Minister Christian Dube has urged people to respect new holiday lockdown measures, as the province on Sunday reported 6,783 new COVID-19 cases and 110 additional deaths linked to the virus since Christmas Eve.

The three-day total came after public health authorities did not publish data on the number of new infections or deaths on Dec. 25 and Dec. 26.

Officials said 2,291 of the new COVID-19 cases and 12 of the deaths took place in the last 24 hours.

The province has asked Quebecers to put social contacts and non-essential travel on pause, and to work from home over the holiday period, Dube said.

“We all need to do our part to break the second wave once and for all,” he tweeted.

Quebec ordered a province-wide lockdown, which went into effect on Christmas Day, as part of its effort to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus and ease pressure on the healthcare system.

Businesses deemed non-essential will remain closed until at least Jan. 11.

The province has now recorded 192,655 total cases and 8,023 deaths since the start of the pandemic.

Hospitalizations went up by 33 since the last figures were published on Thursday, for a total of 1,085. Of those, 149 people were in intensive care, an increase of three.

Officials also said 6,145 doses of COVID-19 vaccine were administered since Dec. 24, for a total of 17,316 doses since the vaccinations began on Dec. 14.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 27, 2020.

The Canadian Press