[Translated from French]

The fall in occupancy rates in Quebec’s emergency rooms that began on 19 December ended on Tuesday.

The Index Santé website noted that this average rate had risen to 95% on 26 December, before jumping to 112% on Wednesday morning, shortly before 6 a.m., which was considered very high.

Of Quebec’s 14 regions, eight had occupancy rates above 100% on Wednesday, including some of the most populous.

In Montreal, the average occupancy rate was 118%; 15 of the 21 hospital centres with emergency rooms had occupancy rates of over 100%. It was 172% at the Jewish General Hospital, 160% at the LaSalle Hospital and 150% at the Verdun Hospital.