Ontario saw its largest single-day jump in novel coronavirus cases since May 8 on a sunny weekend that saw thousands of people flood one downtown Toronto park.
Sunday also saw Ontario Premier Doug Ford hold a surprise weekend press conference announcing that anyone in the province who wants a COVID-19 test can now get one, even if they’re not showing symptoms.
Overall, Canada reported more than a thousand new cases and 69 new deaths, bringing national figures to 84,686 cases — including more than 43,000 recoveries — and 6,424 deaths.
More than 1.5 million tests have been conducted so far throughout the country, with the majority of them in Ontario and Quebec. The two provinces continue to report new cases in the hundreds, even as some sectors reopen.
Quebec reported 573 new cases and 44 new deaths. With more than 47,000 cases and nearly 4,000 deaths, the second-most populous province in Canada continues to account for more than half of the country’s total number of cases and more than 60 per cent of the national death toll.
Montreal alone has nearly 24,000 cases. Close to 14,000 people have recovered throughout Quebec.
Ontario reported 460 new cases and 25 new deaths for a total of 25,500 cases and more than 2,000 deaths. Nearly 19,500 cases are considered recovered.
Thousands of people crowding Trinity Bellwoods Park in downtown Toronto on a sunny Saturday, with photos showing apparently little to no physical distancing, caused an uproar on social media, prompting city officials to ramp up bylaw enforcement on Sunday.
“The images I saw — we just can’t have that right now,” Ford said in response to the photos.
Toronto has seen more than 10,000 cases so far, and 759 deaths.
Alberta announced no new deaths on Sunday — the third time in the past week the province has had no fatalities to report. Alberta saw its caseload rise by 42 new cases, to 6,858, including 135 deaths and more than 5,900 recoveries.
British Columbia had no update on Sunday. With more than 2,500 cases and 157 deaths, the province faced its first weekend under Phase 2 of its reopening plan, with restaurants operating at half capacity.
Single-digit increases
Saskatchewan saw two new cases, bringing its total to 632 cases overall. Seven people have died in the province so far, and 535 are considered recovered. Its active case count continues to decline though, with 87 active as of Sunday.
Nova Scotia reported one new case, for a total of 1,050 cases. Fifty-eight people have died in the province so far, with a majority of those deaths linked to one long-term care home in Halifax. More than 970 people have recovered so far.
No new cases
Manitoba reported no new cases, and also no new hospitalizations, for the second day in a row. There are 281 cases so far, including seven deaths, 17 active cases and 268 recoveries.
Newfoundland and Labrador has seen 17 days so far without any new cases of COVID-19. The province has 260 cases total, including three deaths, three active cases, and 254 recoveries.
New Brunswick reported no new cases as well. One case remains active out of a total 121 cases. Zero deaths have been reported in the province so far. More businesses are expected to reopen starting May 29.
All cases resolved
Prince Edward Island had no new data to report on Sunday. All 27 cases previously reported in the province have been resolved for some time.
The Northwest Territories and the Yukon also had no information to report on Sunday, with all their cases remaining resolved.
Nunavut remains the only region in Canada without a single confirmed case of COVID-19.
World
The virus has resulted in more than 5.3 million cases worldwide, according to a tally kept by Johns Hopkins University. The highest caseload is in the U.S, with more than 1.6 million cases, followed by Brazil, the No. 2 hotspot in the world with more than 347,000 cases.
More than 343,000 people have died, including more than 97,000 deaths in the U.S.
— With files by The Canadian Press