More than 100 novel coronavirus deaths were reported Saturday, the vast majority of them in Quebec and Ontario, as Canada’s national death toll climbed past 6,300.
Six provinces reported 1,139 new cases on Saturday, with four of them reporting new deaths as well, bringing the country’s total case count to more than 83,500.
Tallied daily via information provided by public health authorities across the country, these figures also include nearly 1.5 million COVID-19 tests conducted in Canada and more than 43,000 recoveries so far.
Quebec remained the hardest hit province, with Montreal the epicentre of the provincial outbreak. The province reported 75 new deaths, for a total of 3,940 deaths since the pandemic began — more than 60 per cent of the national death toll.
Quebec’s caseload increased by nearly 700 cases, to 46,838, accounting for more than half of Canada’s COVID-19 cases, with 23,696 cases in Montreal alone. More than 14,000 people in the province have recovered.
On Saturday, the City of Montreal extended its state of emergency until May 26. On Friday, Quebec began allowing outdoor gatherings with a maximum of 10 people from three addresses with social distancing measures in place. More measures are expected to be relaxed starting Monday.
Ontario has the second highest caseload and death toll in the country. The province surpassed 25,000 cases on Saturday, after announcing 412 new cases and 27 new deaths. Ontario has seen 2,048 COVID-19 deaths so far. More than 19,000 cases are considered recovered.
As Canada continues to reopen at differing speeds, testing and contact tracing remain front of mind. On Friday, the federal government announced it will help fund contact tracing efforts across the country.
British Columbia reported 10 new cases and two new deaths on Saturday — with both fatalities in long-term care homes — bringing its total figures to 2,517 cases and 157 deaths. More than 300 cases remain active. More than 80 per cent of the province’s cases are considered recovered.
Alberta saw 16 new cases and one new death. The province has seen 6,816 cases so far and 135 deaths. More than 5,800 people are considered recovered.
Saskatchewan reported three new cases on Saturday and no new deaths, bringing its total to 630 cases. Seven people have died in the province so far, and 535 are considered recovered.
Nova Scotia saw its active cases decline as it reported only one new case on Saturday. The province has seen 1,049 cases and 58 deaths — a majority of the fatalities have been linked to one long-term care home in Halifax. More than 950 people have recovered so far.
No new cases
Manitoba reported no new cases on Saturday. It also announced hospitals are currently free of COVID-19 patients, marking the first time since March 19 that the province has seen zero hospitalizations due to the virus.
Seven people have died in Manitoba since the pandemic began, and 267 of a total of 281 COVID-19 cases are considered resolved.
New Brunswick reported no new cases as well. The province currently has one active case, with 120 of 121 cases considered resolved. Zero deaths have been reported since the pandemic began.
Newfoundland and Labrador currently has three active cases, with 254 of its 260 cases resolved and three deaths.
All cases resolved
Prince Edward Island had no new data to report on Saturday — all 27 cases that have been previously reported in the province have been resolved for some time.
Similarly, the Northwest Territories and the Yukon also had no information to report on Saturday, with all their cases remaining resolved.
Nunavut remains the only region in Canada without any confirmed cases of COVID-19 so far.
World
Globally, there are more than 5.2 million cases of COVID-19, according to data tracked by Johns Hopkins University.
The U.S. has the most number of cases (more than 1.6 million), followed by Russia (nearly 336,000).
More than 340,000 people have died around the world, including close to 97,000 Americans.