Canada’s top doctor expressed concern about the recent spike in coronavirus cases Saturday, as provinces reported an additional 371 diagnoses and two more deaths.
The new figures bring Canada’s COVID-19 death toll to 9,143. Since the start of the pandemic, 131,410 cases have been diagnosed overall. About 88 per cent of the country’s coronavirus patients are considered recovered.
Saturday’s numbers represent only a partial update, however, since B.C., Alberta, P.E.I. and the territories do not release daily figures on weekends.
Canada’s chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam said the country is continuing to see an increase in daily case counts — which she said was a “key concern.”
The current seven-day average is 545 new cases per day, meaning case counts are back where they were in mid-July, she said in a statement.
“Although public health authorities continue to indicate that COVID-19 spread is still under manageable control, this is a situation that can change quickly,” Dr. Tam said.
“Increasing daily case counts tell us that COVID-19 is continuing to spread. This is a reminder that we all need to maintain public health measures, as this spread can quickly get out of control.”
Across the country, about 46,000 people were tested daily over the past week, and 0.9 per cent of those tests were positive, according to Dr. Tam. Since January, 6.7 million tests have been administered, provincial data compiled by Global News shows.
The two COVID-19 patient deaths announced Saturday occurred in Quebec, which also saw the country’s highest number of newly diagnosed cases at 175.
Officials said those fatalities happened sometime between Aug. 29 and Sept. 3. The province has suffered 5,769 COVID-19 deaths and 63,292 cases overall.
Ontario saw its largest daily uptick in cases in more than six weeks Saturday, with 169 new diagnoses reported.
The province’s overall number of cases surpassed 43,000 on Saturday. Since the pandemic started, 2,811 people in Ontario have died.
Manitoba reported 21 new cases Saturday. Overall, the province has diagnosed the fewest COVID-19 cases across the Prairies, with a total of 1,294 cases and a death toll of 16.
Saskatchewan added five new cases on Saturday. The province’s total stands at 1,643, and two dozen COVID-19 fatalities have occurred.
A single coronavirus case was announced in Atlantic Canada on Saturday, in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Overall, there have been 270 coronavirus cases diagnosed in that province, and three people have succumbed to the illness. New Brunswick has had 192 cases, along with two fatalities. In Nova Scotia, there have been 1,085 cases and 65 people have died.
P.E.I., which last provided an update on Friday, has a cumulative total of 47 cases.
B.C. and Alberta reported more than 100 new coronavirus cases each on Friday.
In Alberta, 242 COVID-19 patients have died since the start of the pandemic, and 14,474 cases have been diagnosed overall.
In B.C., there have been 6,077 lab-confirmed COVID-19 cases, plus an additional 85 considered “epi-linked.” The provincial death toll is 211.
Nunavut remains the only province or territory that has yet to diagnose a COVID-19 case.
Yukon has had 15 cases in total, while five have been diagnosed in the Northwest Territories.
All cases in both territories are resolved.