Canada reported a record high number of new coronavirus cases on Thursday, with 2,435 more infections.
The number is only surpassed by the over 2,700 cases reported on May 3 due to a computer issue that resulted in a reporting delay.
Records for daily reported virus cases have been broken everyday over the past seven days except for Wednesday, which saw 1,795 new infections.
Canada’s total number of COVID-19 cases now stands at 175,377.
Sixteen more deaths linked to the virus were also announced Thursday, raising the country’s death toll to 9,557. More than 147,500 patients have since recovered from the virus, while more than 9.6 million tests have been administered across the country.
In an update Thursday, Canada’s chief public health officer, Dr. Theresa Tam, said that both Ontario and Quebec accounted for over 80 per cent of cases reported nationally over the last several weeks.
“Both provinces have also observed (an increase) in the number of hospitalized cases, raising concerns of straining health system capacity if the upward trend continues,” wrote Tam in a tweet.
Tam also pointed to both provinces reporting an increase in the number of outbreaks in long-term care facilities, which were devastated at the outset of the pandemic. In May, Tam reported that seniors accounted for more than 80 per cent of all COVID-19 deaths in Canada, which totalled just over 5,000 at the time.
“No matter where we live, we must remain vigilant and consistently maintain the tried and true public health practices that we know are effective in preventing the spread of COVID-19.”
Quebec reported the highest number of new cases Thursday, with 1,078 infections. The data brings the province’s total case count to 82,992 — of which 67,735 have since recovered.
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Health authorities also reported seven additional deaths, though only one had occurred in the past 24 hours while four had occurred between Sept. 30 and Oct. 5 and the other two at an unknown date.
Ontario added 797 new cases of the virus on Thursday, raising its provincial total to 56,742. Another four deaths were recorded by authorities, pushing its death toll to 2,992.
Alberta reported 364 more cases of the virus on Thursday — its highest-ever daily case count since the start of the pandemic.
The new infections bring the province’s total cases to 19,718, though an announcement of two more fatalities brings the provincial death toll to 283.
British Columbia announced 110 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, raising its total lab-confirmed cases to 9,885. Another 182 additional cases in the province are also considered “epidemiologically linked,” which are patients who have never been confirmed to have the disease, but exhibit symptoms and are related to positive cases.
One more death was also reported by the province, raising the provincial death toll to 245.
Manitoba reported 67 more COVID-19 cases on Thursday, raising its total infections to 2,344 — of which an unknown number are considered probable cases. The province’s death toll stands at 27, though 1,454 patients have since recovered from the virus.
New Brunswick added three new cases of the virus on Thursday, increasing its total infections to 1,089. Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador and P.E.I. did not report any new cases on Thursday, however.
Nunavut confirmed 10 positive cases and six presumptive cases at the Hope Bay Mine on Thursday, though none of the cases would be counted as part of the territory’s as the patients’ jurisdictions have chosen to count them as their own.
The territory’s case count remains at zero, while over 3,100 people have been tested as of Wednesday.
Over 36,300,000 cases have been diagnosed worldwide, according to a running tally kept by Johns Hopkins University. Global deaths have since surpassed 1,059,000, while the United States, Brazil and India continue to lead in both cases and deaths.
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