Quebec reports one new COVID-19 death, 156 new cases

A man wears a face mask as he browses on his phone in a shopping mall in Montreal, Sunday, August 2, 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic continues in Canada and around the world. The Quebec government has made the wearing of masks and face coverings mandatory in all public spaces as of July 18 and will increase the number of people allowed to gather indoors and outdoors to 250 people as of August 3. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes

MONTREAL — There are now 5,696 people who have died of COVID-19 in Quebec, health authorities announced Monday, as confirmed cases in the province reached 60,627.

That’s up one from the total of 5,695 deaths reported Sunday; COVID-19 cases in Quebec rose 156 from the total of 60,471 announced a day earlier. Of the 156 new cases, 98 were recorded over the past 24 hours and 58 have been added due to a data adjustment, health authorities said.

This is the first time in the past month that the province has reported under 100 cases in a 24-hour period.

"I will tell you today, this is very good news for us," said Health Minister Christian Dube during a press conference on Monday.

There are 157 people being treated for COVID-19 in Quebec hospitals as of Monday, up one from the 156 reported Sunday. Of those in a hospital, 21 are in intensive care, down one from the 22 reported 24 hours earlier.

Recoveries have not been updated for days in the province due to a technical glitch, public health authorities say.

Quebec reported that it completed analyses of 13,600 COVID-19 tests on Saturday, down 2,493 from the 16,093 it completed a day earlier. (Quebec reports its daily testing figures from two days prior).