Canada sees lowest single-day increase in coronavirus deaths in months

Canada reported 20 novel coronavirus deaths in total on Sunday, the lowest daily death toll since April 1, when the country reported 10 deaths in a single day.

There were 318 new cases reported nationwide on Sunday, with Ontario and Quebec accounting for a majority of the daily caseload. In total, there are 101,320 confirmed cases of COVID-19 across the country.

Canada’s total death toll rose to 8,430 on Sunday, with nine deaths from Quebec and 11 from Ontario. Three of Quebec’s deaths date prior to June 13, meaning the actual national daily death toll on Sunday was 17.

Canada surged past the 100,000 case mark last week on June 18, the same day the federal government announced it will launch a voluntary contract tracing app by early July.

Quebec and Ontario have been the two provinces reporting the most cases and deaths on a daily basis, with both figures trending downward in recent weeks.

More than 2.5 million tests have been conducted, while close to 64,000 people have recovered from the virus. There are a little over 29,000 active cases across the country as of Sunday evening.

Quebec saw its lowest daily death toll since late March, with nine new deaths — three of them were recorded prior to June 13.

The province, which has been the hardest hit in Canada so far, also saw 92 new cases, bringing it closer to 55,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19. More than 23,000 people are considered recovered. Quebec is preparing to reopen several sectors and relax the rules for indoor gatherings on Monday.

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Ontario reported 175 new cases and 11 new deaths, bringing its total caseload to nearly 33,500 cases. The provincial death toll has surpassed 2,600, while more than 28,000 cases — or nearly 86 per cent of all cases — are considered resolved.

Saskatchewan saw its biggest jump in daily cases in a month, with 20 new cases bringing its provincial tally to 746. Nearly 650 people are recovered, and 13 have died since the pandemic began.

Alberta reported 31 new cases and no new deaths on Sunday, leaving it with a little 7,700 cases, including 152 deaths. More than 7,000 people have recovered.

Manitoba saw no new cases on Sunday as Phase 3 in the provincial re-opening plan kicked off, permitting public gatherings of 50 people indoors and 100 people outdoors, so long as people can stay two metres apart.

British Columbia had no new information to report on Sunday, leaving it with close to 2,800 cases — 88 per cent of whom are recovered — and 168 deaths.

Atlantic provinces

Nova Scotia marked its 12th straight day with no new cases, leaving it with just one active case. The province has seen 62 deaths and more than 1,000 cases.

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New Brunswick reported no new cases Sunday, leaving it with 27 active cases out of a total 164 cases. Two people have died in the province so far.

Newfoundland and Labrador has no active cases of the virus as of Sunday, having experienced three deaths so far and 261 cases in total.

Provinces with all cases resolved

Prince Edward Island, the Northwest Territories and the Yukon continue to see no new cases. All their cases have been resolved for weeks now.

Nunavut remains the only region in Canada that has yet to report a positive case of COVID-19.

The virus has caused nearly 8.9 million cases worldwide and more than 465,000 deaths, according to numbers tallied by Johns Hopkins University.

The U.S. has seen the highest caseload and death toll so far, followed by Brazil. Sunday marked the largest single-day increase in coronavirus cases, at more than 183,000 cases in the last 24 hours, according to the World Health Organization’s tally.

— With files by The Canadian Press, The Associated Press, Global News staff