There will be 3.5 million COVID-19 self-test kits going out to students in high schools, adult education, and vocational training centres over the course of the coming days in an effort to help prevent outbreaks in those spaces. Tests will be distributed in boxes of five, similar to how they were provided to elementary school students last month.
An additional distribution of tests to elementary schools is planned for later this month.
Under the directives currently in place, parents are required to keep their child at home if the child shows symptoms before leaving for school. The student must take a test at home, if one is available, and follow isolation instructions.
So far 53,858 rapid test results have been reported to the province, including 40,941 positive: 1,272 were reported declared for the day Wednesday, including 963 positive results.
There were 2,637 people in hospital with COVID-19 as of Thursday’s report, 191 of whom were in intensive care. This marked a decrease of 93 in overall hospitalizations and a drop of 13 in ICU.
The province also reported another 42 new deaths, for a total of 13,378 since the start of the pandemic.
There were 148 people in hospital with COVID-19 in the Eastern Townships on Thursday, with 16 in intensive care. The region also recorded another covid-related death, for a total of 503 since the start of the pandemic.