An average of 200 patients with COVID-19 are expected to be admitted every day to Quebec hospitals within two weeks' time, according to projections released Wednesday by a government health-care research institute as health authorities confirmed the province has entered a sixth wave.
The number of people needing intensive care, however, should rise over the same period but is not expected to put significant pressure on the health system, the Institut national d'excellence en sante et en services sociaux said in its latest report.
The latest forecasts come as a separate health institute confirmed Wednesday that Quebec is indeed into a sixth wave of COVID-19 as some experts had previously predicted. Quebec Premier Francois Legault said earlier this week that a “moderate increase in cases and hospitalizations” was expected over the next two weeks, but he said no new public health orders were expected. The last major restriction in force - the provincewide mask mandate - is still scheduled to be lifted by mid-April.