Over 500 new coronavirus cases bring Canada’s total past 130,000

Provincial health officials announced 569 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, bringing the national total to 130,412.

The number of COVID-19 fatalities rose by six on Thursday. Overall, the pandemic has claimed 9,141 lives in Canada this year.

However, most coronavirus patients — about 88 per cent — have recovered, according to figures released by provincial and territorial governments.

Across the country, more than 6.6 million tests have been conducted since January.

Among the provinces, Quebec saw the highest jump in new diagnoses on Thursday, with 187 additional cases.

Three deaths were also reported, though they occurred sometime before Aug. 27.

Overall, the province has been hardest hit by far in terms of overall cases and deaths, with 62,933 people diagnosed with the illness and 5,767 fatalities attributed to the disease.

With cases increasing in recent weeks, Premier François Legault called on Quebecers to be more vigilant to stave off a possible second wave.

“The trend is not good,” he said.

Ontario announced fewer new cases than Quebec, but has been reporting triple-digit increases for more than a week.

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On Thursday, the province said 132 people had been newly diagnosed with COVID-19. Overall, 42,686 cases have been diagnosed in Ontario.

There were no deaths announced, though Ontario has suffered the second-highest number of fatal cases of the disease among the provinces, at 2,812.

Alberta added 130 cases on Thursday, bringing its total to 14,310.

Overall, 242 Albertans have died from COVID-19.

In B.C., the number of coronavirus cases surpassed 6,000 with the announcement of 89 new cases on Thursday. The province says 5,960 of its cases are were lab-confirmed, while the rest are considered epidemiologically linked.

One other person succumbed to the illness, bringing the death toll to 210.

The number of cases in the province has grown rapidly — 2,000 cases were added in the last two weeks.

Manitoba, which has the fewest number of cases among the prairie provinces, reported 20 new COVID-19 diagnoses. The total stands at 1,246.

Two more Manitobans have died of the illness, bringing the total to 16. The province’s chief public health officer said the deaths of the two senior women are related to an outbreak at a care home in Steinbach.

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Saskatchewan saw its first double-digit increase in new cases in three weeks. The provincial case total rose by 10, six of which are in the Saskatoon region.

The cumulative case total stands at 1,634, with 24 COVID-19-related deaths.

Across Atlantic Canada, just one province reported new coronavirus cases.

P.E.I. announced two new diagnoses, bringing its total to 46.

After launching the COVID-19 Alert app in Ontario in July, the federal government announced Thursday that Newfoundland and Labrador residents would also be able to report their diagnoses through the platform.

The province’s total stands at 269 cases. Just one remains active, and three people in the province have lost their lives to the pandemic.

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New Brunswick has diagnosed 192 cases and confirmed two deaths. Nova Scotia is the hardest-hit province in the region, with 1,085 cases and 65 deaths.

There have only been 20 coronavirus cases in Canada’s North, all of which are resolved.

Yukon has had 15 in total, while the other five were in Northwest Territories.

No cases have been diagnosed in Nunavut so far.

Around the world, the virus is continuing to spread rapidly.

A database maintained by Johns Hopkins University shows more than 26 million people have been diagnosed, and over 865,000 people have succumbed to the illness globally.

— With files from Simon Little, Shane Gibson, Thomas Piller and Kalina Laframboise, Global News