Quebec reports 88 more COVID-19 deaths as hospitalizations top 3,425

Quebec reported 88 more deaths attributed to the virus on Wednesday, bringing the death toll since the start of the pandemic to 12,541.

Quebec reported 3,425 active COVID-19 hospitalizations on Wednesday and 88 more deaths attributed to the virus.

The total death toll since the start of the pandemic is now 12,541.

Hospitalizations increased by eight with 359 new patients admitted and 351 discharged. Of those in hospital, 285 are in intensive care, for a decrease of four over the previous day.

Another 6,123 infections were recorded in the last 24 hours bringing the total caseload to 812,419. The number of cases does not accurately reflect the situation due to limited screening, according to the province.

While health officials said Tuesday the rise in hospitalizations driven by the Omicron variant seems to be  slowing, Quebec announced a contingency plan to allow for overburdened hospitals to continue operating.

Rather than focusing on keeping COVID-19 out of their facilities, hospitals would adopt a “harm-reduction approach” to the spread of the virus.

Some of the plan involves allowing workers infected with or exposed to the virus to continue working rather than isolating, and having family members of patients provide basic care to their loved one so medical staff can provide clinical care.

The province also announced that it would begin to distribute Pfizer’s COVID-19 antiviral pill Paxlovid to the population in a bid to eventually prevent further hospitalizations.