Canada added 702 new cases of the novel coronavirus on Friday — its highest daily increase in over three months.
Friday’s data bring Canada’s total number of COVID-19 cases to 135,529. Four new deaths were also reported on Friday but another four were omitted through data revisions, leaving the country’s death toll at 9,163.
A total of 119,671 patients have also recovered from the virus, while over 7.1 million tests have been administered across the country.
Friday’s increase in infections continues to follow an upward trend of new cases in recent weeks. The last date daily COVID-19 cases topped the 700-figure was June 6, which saw 733 new cases of the virus.
At a press conference Friday, Canada’s chief public health officer, Dr. Theresa Tam, was asked at what point she would recommend provinces roll back reopening measures.
“I do think we need to monitor not just the numbers everyday but the speed of acceleration, the reproduction number, etc., or those indicators we’ve been talking about,” said Tam.
Tam also spoke on what trends health officials were looking for as students began heading back to school amid the pandemic, emphasizing focus on how local health situations developed over the school year.
Quebec reported the highest number of new infections on Friday, with 219 new cases of the virus. A total of 64,463 people have been diagnosed with the virus in the province.
Health authorities also added another three deaths, with one occurring between Sept. 4 and Sept. 9, another occurring before Sept. 4 and the third occurring on an unknown date. Quebec’s death toll now stands at 5,744, however, after two deaths previously linked to the virus were omitted.
Ontario added 213 new cases on Friday, raising its total infections to 44,068. A total of 2,813 people have since died from the virus in the province, with a death removed from Ontario’s total due to a data correction.
British Columbia added 132 new cases on Friday, raising its total number of lab-confirmed infections to 6,859. Another 103 cases in the province are considered “epidemiologically linked,” which refers to patients who developed symptoms and are close contacts with confirmed cases but were never tested.
B.C.’s death toll stands at 213, while 5,273 patients have since recovered.
Alberta added another 111 cases of the virus on Friday, raising its total confirmed cases to 15,415.
Health authorities in Alberta reported one new death on Friday, but also determined a death previously linked to the coronavirus was unrelated to the disease following an autopsy. The provincial death toll stands at 253.
Saskatchewan added 13 new cases of the virus on Friday. The province’s total confirmed cases was only raised to 1,688 though, after a false positive was removed. To date, the province has seen 24 fatalities from COVID-19.
Manitoba added 15 new cases on Friday. The total number of cases now sits at 1,393, some of which are considered probable. The province reported zero deaths, with its fatalities standing at 16.
Global cases of the coronavirus have since surpassed 28.3 million, according to a running tally kept by Johns Hopkins University. Over 912,000 people have since succumbed to the virus worldwide, with the U.S., India and Brazil leading in both cases and deaths.