Canada added 1,085 new cases of the novel coronavirus on Wednesday, marking the fifth day in a row the country has seen a daily increase of more than 1,000.
Health authorities also said 10 more people have died after contracting the virus.
The new cases come as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said some regions in Canada are already experiencing a second wave of the virus.
“In our four biggest provinces, the second wave isn’t just starting, it’s already underway,” he said.
Trudeau made the comments during a rare evening address.
He urged Canadians to continue abiding by the public health measures including sticking to social bubbles, wearing a mask, washing hands frequently and continuing practicing social distancing.
“Together, we have the power to get this second wave under control,” he said.
The prime minister said it is “likely” Canadians will not be able to gather for Thanksgiving, but said “we still have a shot at Christmas.”
Ontario reported 335 new cases of the virus on Wednesday, and health officials there said three more people had died.
The new infections bring the province’s total caseload to 48,087.
In Quebec, 471 new infections were detected, and health officials said one more person had died.
Health authorities said three more deaths which occurred between Sept. 16 and Sept. 21, bring the provincial death toll to 5,809.
However, 59,686 people have recovered from the virus in Quebec, and health officials have conducted 2,136,088 tests to date.
New Brunswick added one new case of COVID-19 on Wednesday, but officials said no one else had died.
The province has seen two deaths related to the virus so far.
Nova Scotia health officials said no new cases or deaths associated with COVID-19 had occurred.
So far 1,021 people have recovered after testing positive for the novel coronavirus, and 90,124 people have been tested.
Prince Edward Island saw one new case of COVID-19, marking the province’s first new infection since Sept. 16.
The new case brings Prince Edward Island’s total caseload to 58, however, 57 of those people have recovered.
No new cases of COVID-19 were detected in Newfoundland on Wednesday, and provincial health authorities said the death toll remained at three.
Newfoundland has not recorded a new case of the virus since Sept. 18.
Forty-two new infections were reported in Manitoba, and health authorities said one more person had died after testing positive for the virus.
To date, 1,238 people have recovered from COVID-19 in the province, and 170,045 people have been tested.
Saskatchewan reported six new cases, but health officials said the death toll in the province remained at 24.
Alberta recorded 143 new infections, bringing the province’s total case count to 17,032.
Health officials there said two more people had died, pushing Alberta’s death toll to 260.
However, since the pandemic began, 15,252 people have recovered from the virus.
Further west in British Columbia, 86 new infections were reported, but no new deaths have occurred.
Health authorities also reported five epidemiologically-linked, meaning they have not been confirmed by a laboratory.
So far, 6,769 people who contracted COVID-19 have recovered in B.C., and 483,979 tests have been administered.
No new cases in the territories
None of Canada’s territories reported a new case of COVID-19 on Wednesday, and health officials confirmed no one else had died.
In the Northwest Territories, all five confirmed cases of the virus are considered resolved.
The territory has administered 1,673 tests for COVID-19.
Meanwhile, Nunavut has seen three cases of the virus to date, however, each have been tied to workers from other parts of the country.
The territory says the infections will be counted in the totals for the workers’ home jurisdictions, meaning Nunavut still considers itself free of COVID-19 cases.
The territory has tested 2,812 for the virus to date.
All 15 confirmed cases of the virus in the Yukon are considered to be recovered.
Since the pandemic began, health officials have administered 59,686 tests.
Global cases approach 32 million
COVID-19 was first detected in Wuhan, China late last year. Since then, it has infected a total of 31,759,233 people around the world, according to a tally from John’s Hopkins University.
As of 7 p.m. ET on Wednesday, the virus had claimed 973,904 lives worldwide.
The United States remained the epicentre of the virus on Wednesday, with over 6.9 million confirmed cases.
So far 201,861 Americans have died after contracting COVID-19.
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