Canada sees another 1,100 new coronavirus cases, 98 more deaths

Over 1,100 more Canadians were confirmed to be infected with the novel coronavirus Friday, which has killed 98 more people over the past 24 hours.

According to provincial health data compiled by Global News, the number of COVID-19 cases nationwide climbed by 1,156 for a new total of 82,469. Canada’s death toll has now reached 6,250, meaning just over 7.5 per cent of all confirmed cases have resulted in a patient’s death.

Of the remaining cases, 42,607 have now recovered — leaving 33,612 active cases.

Nearly all of Friday’s newly-announced cases once again came from Ontario and Quebec, where 441 and 646 new cases were reported, respectively.

Ontario reported 28 more deaths, while in Quebec 65 more patients have died.

In Atlantic Canada, only Nova Scotia saw an increase in cases with two. New Brunswick continues to only have one active case, while Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador have not had an increase in weeks.

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Officials in Manitoba and Saskatchewan announced two and five new cases, respectively, while Alberta reported 32 more cases and another two deaths.

British Columbia said 18 new cases had come back positive, while three more people have died. Another 10 B.C. residents, all of whom had recovered, have now returned home from an outbreak at the Kearl Lake oilsands plant in Alberta and have been added to the province’s total.

None of the three territories reported new cases Friday. The Yukon and the Northwest Territories have not seen a positive test in over a month.

Despite the continued increase in cases, nearly all provinces and territories have begun reopening their economies or loosening restrictions on public gatherings.

Only Nunavut, which has not seen any cases other than a false positive early this month, has not released a reopening plan or eased restrictions.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Friday the federal government will help fund contact tracing for all provinces and territories that request it, while hinting at the eventual launch of a national tracing smartphone app.

Ottawa will also help the provinces and territories improve the way they share data and information about the spread of the virus, the prime minister said.