Quebec sees 963 new cases, 19 more deaths amid second coronavirus wave

Quebec is reporting 963 new cases and 19 additional deaths tied to the novel coronavirus on Tuesday as regions on red alert brace for another month of restrictions.

Health authorities say of those fatalities, four occurred in the last 24 hours. Fourteen people died between Oct. 20 and 25 and one death occurred at an unknown date.

The province’s caseload stands at 101,885, with more than 86,000 recoveries to date. It is the highest case tally in Canada.

The COVID-19 health crisis has led to the deaths of 6,172 Quebecers. The death toll accounts for more than half of the country’s total fatalities.

Hospitalizations dipped by 16 to 527. Health authorities say 91 of those patients are in intensive care, two fewer than the previous day.

The province administered 18,985 tests Sunday, the latest day for which that data is available. As of Tuesday, Quebec has surpassed three million tests.

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The Quebec government announced Monday it is extending tightened measures in hard-hit areas by another four weeks, until Nov. 23. A large swath of the southern half of the province, including Montreal, are on red alert.

The restrictions include bar, fitness centre and museum closures as well as a ban on the majority of indoor and outdoor gatherings.

Premier François Legault said the daily case counts remain too high to scale back restrictions, which he says have helped the province reach a plateau in new infections.

“We need to reduce the number of cases, hospitalizations and death, and to do that, we need four more weeks,” he said.

Under the plan, Grade 9 students in designated red zones will also move to a hybrid learning model where they only physically attend school every other day.

— With files from The Canadian Press

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