COVID-19 in Quebec: What you need to know Thursday

• Quebec reported 1,271new caseson Wednesday and nine new deaths.
• Since the start of the pandemic, there have been312,362 confirmed cases and10,676people have died.
• There are 487people in hospital (an increase of two), including 119in intensive care (a decrease of one).
• 41,406doses ofvaccine were administered in the last 24 hours for atotal of 1,391,649sinceDec. 14.

Quebec is reporting a substantial one-day spike in coronavirus infections with nearly 1,271 confirmed cases, a day after the premier imposed restrictions onQuebec City, Lvis and Gatineau.

The last time more than 1,200 cases were recorded in a single day was on Feb. 6.

A gym in Quebec City is now linked to more than 140 cases of COVID-19 and 21 workplace outbreaks.

Schools, restaurant dining rooms, gyms, hairdressers, and other non-essential businesses in those cities will close by 8 p.m. tonight and remain closed until at least April 12.

"We're better off making a decision that's imperfectmore quickly than to wait too long and watch the situation get worse in hospitals," PremierFranois Legault said Wednesday, as he announced the new restrictions.

So far, COVID-19 hospitalizations in the province have remained below 500, despitethe recent increase in cases.

Meanwhile, as the Lower Saint-Lawrence heads back into the red zone,health officials in the region are asking people to help curb the spread of the virus, especially as the majority of new cases are of the more contagious coronavirus variants.

Regional Public Health Director Dr. Sylvain Leduc said in less than two weeks, the number of new daily cases has jumped from fewerthan fiveto several dozen.

The new restrictions will apply to the whole region, Leduc said, despite the fact that the hardest-hit areaisKamouraskaRivire-du-Loup, which hassome of the highest infection rates in the province.

The region reported59 new cases on Thursday, which is nearly another record, second only to when it surpassed 60 cases last week, the highest number since the beginning of the pandemic.

Leduc is urging people to stay home over the Easter weekend. "Even if we're fed up and we're all fed up we have to offer up a new effort," he said.

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