The novel coronavirus has claimed the lives of more than 9,000 people in Canada since the virus was first confirmed in the country in late January.
The sobering milestone was reached on Aug. 12, after Quebec reported 12 more deaths attributed to COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the new coronavirus.
To date, there have been a total of 120,784 lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 9,006 deaths across the country. Just over 107,100 people infected with the virus — or approximately 89 per cent of all cases — have recovered.
Based on data from the most recent seven days, an average of 443 new coronavirus cases have been reported daily across the country, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada.
“Presently, our efforts indicate that we are keeping COVID-19 spread under manageable control — but the virus is still circulating in Canada and we must not let down our guard,” Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s chief public health officer, said in a statement on Wednesday.
“Fortunately, the number of new deaths reported daily has remained low following a steep decline from the peak in early May when close to 200 deaths were reported daily. Fewer than 10 deaths have been reported per day on average over the last four weeks.”
Provincial breakdown
Quebec continues to be the province with the largest caseload and highest death toll, reporting a total of 60,813 cases and 5,709 deaths to date. Eleven of the 12 new deaths recorded in that province occurred earlier in the year but were only reported Wednesday.
Ontario — Canada’s most populous province — follows, with a total of 40,289 reported cases and 2,787 deaths.
Health officials in Ontario said 95 new cases of the novel coronavirus were identified on Wednesday, and said one more death related to the virus had occurred.
The large majority of confirmed cases in both Ontario and Quebec have recovered, according to public health data.
Nunavut, meanwhile, continues to be the only province or territory without a single confirmed case of the virus.
Of the western provinces, Alberta has the largest outbreak, reporting a total of 11,893 cases and 217 deaths to date.
British Columbia has reported 4,151 cases and 196 deaths so far.
In Saskatchewan five new cases of the virus were reported on Wednesday, bringing the province’s total to 1,484. So far 20 have died.
Manitoba saw new 16 new infections on Wednesday, bringing the provinces total case count to 563.
Eight people have died in Manitoba.
The Yukon and the Northwest Territories have reported 15 and five cases, respectively; neither territory has reported a single death attributed to COVID-19.
To the east, there have been 1,071 cases and 64 deaths in Nova Scotia. New Brunswick has reported 178 cases and two fatalities.
Prince Edward Island has reported the lowest number of cases and deaths in Atlantic Canada with 41 cases and no fatalities. Newfound and Labrador has confirmed 268 COVID-19 cases and three deaths.
The novel coronavirus was first detected in China at the end of December 2019. The outbreak of the virus was declared a global pandemic a few months later, on Mar. 11, 2020.
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