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       Quebec Health Minister Christian Dube responds to questions during a news conference on the COVID-19 pandemic at the Legislature in Quebec City, Tuesday, Aug. 17, 2021. Quebec's COVID-19 fourth wave continues to be on the rise as the province reports 563 new cases today, the highest daily count since May 21.

       Jacques Boissinot/The Canadian Press

       Quebec is reporting 563 new COVID-19 cases in the province today, the highest daily count since May 21.

       Health Minister Christian Dubé issued a tweet saying residents need to get fully vaccinated in the coming days to be safe from the virus variants.

       Health authorities say 67 per cent of the new cases were among those who were not vaccinated or had received only one dose in the past two weeks.

       The province did not report any new deaths attributed to the virus.

       Health authorities didn’t report on hospitalizations, but said on Friday the number of patients dropped by four to 87.

       The number of patients in intensive care rose by three to 30.

       Close to three-quarters of Quebecers 12 and over are considered fully vaccinated, according to government data.