All Canadian provinces except for P.E.I. and the territories recorded new cases of the novel coronavirus on Friday, raising Canada’s total number of infections above 127,000.
The numbers, which were released by provincial health authorities, tally an increase of 539 new COVID-19 cases Friday, as well as six new deaths.
Canada’s total number of COVID-19 cases now stands at 127,288 and the country’s death toll has been raised to 9,108.
Over 113,200 patients — or about 89 per cent of Canada’s cases — have recovered from the virus, while 6,257,967 tests have been administered.
In an update Friday, Canada’s chief public health officer, Dr. Theresa Tam, pointed to the pandemic as being a factor in an increase of drug-related overdoses and deaths.
“There are indications that the street drug supply is growing more unpredictable and toxic in some parts of the country, as previous supply chains have been disrupted by travel restrictions and border measures during COVID-19,” said Tam during a press conference Friday.
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“Public health measures designed to reduce the impact of COVID-19 may increase isolation, stress and anxiety and puts a strain on the supports for persons who use drugs.”
Tam then pointed to a sharp increase of overdose deaths in British Columbia, which she said saw a 136 per cent increase over the number of over deaths recorded in July of last year.
Provincially, Alberta recorded the highest daily increase in cases Friday with 158 new COVID-19 cases, bringing its total infections to 13,476. No new deaths were recorded in the province.
Ontario reported 122 new cases of the virus on Friday, raising its total provincial cases to 41,935. Another six deaths were also recorded by the province on Friday, raising its COVID-19 death toll to 2,809.
British Columbia added 123 lab-confirmed cases of the virus on Friday — its highest ever single-day jump — raising the provincial total to 5,426 cases.
One additional case is considered as “epidemiologically linked,” which refers to patients who show symptoms of the virus and are in contact with those who have it but have never been tested for it.
Global News’ tally only counts lab-confirmed cases of the virus, not those that are epi-linked, of which there are 70 in total across B.C..
The province also did not report any additional deaths, with its fatalities standing at 204.
Quebec, the hardest-hit province in Canada, announced 98 new cases of the virus on Friday, bringing its total confirmed cases to 62,124. One additional death that health authorities said had occurred before Aug. 21 was also reported, though the provincial COVID-19 death toll remained at 5,750 because one previously announced fatality was declared non-coronavirus related.
Manitoba added 32 new COVID-19 cases on Aug. 28, raising its provincial total to 1,096 infections. The numbers include at least 15 probable cases of the virus, however.
Both Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia recorded two new cases of the virus on Aug. 28, while New Brunswick and Newfoundland added one new case each.
Saskatchewan’s total COVID-19 cases increased to 1,611 and Nova Scotia’s to 1,083. New Brunswick’s cases increased to 191 while Newfoundland and Labrador’s rose to 269.
Worldwide, cases of the new coronavirus have since surpassed 24.6 million, according to a running tally kept by Johns Hopkins University.
Over 833,000 have succumbed to the virus, with the United States and Brazil leading in both cases and deaths.
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