Canada reported another 2,499 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus cases Wednesday, as the fall surge continues to surpass the first wave of the pandemic.
The daily count — which included 359 previously uncounted infections in Quebec due to a technical issue — brought the country’s total number of cases to 189,190.
Even with those historical cases removed, over 2,100 tests came back positive in 24 hours. It’s the 13th straight day that new cases have topped 2,000, yet cases have been falling slightly from the record high of over 2,500 reported on Oct. 9.
Wednesday also saw nine more deaths reported, bringing the death toll to 9,663. A total of 159,351 patients have recovered, leaving 20,176 active cases.
In addition to the 359 historical cases, Quebec reported 844 new cases on Wednesday and six additional deaths, although just one of those patients died over the past 24 hours.
The province remains the jurisdiction hardest hit by the pandemic, with 88,994 cases and 5,976 deaths to date. A total of 74,483 people have recovered so far.
Ontario reported 721 new cases and no new deaths. The province has now seen 61,413 total infections while the death toll sits at 3,017.
In Atlantic Canada, New Brunswick reported eight new cases, with the province seeing a new surge due to outbreaks at multiple special care homes. A total of 292 cases have been reported so far, with two deaths and 200 recoveries.
No other Atlantic provinces reported new cases Wednesday. Nova Scotia has seen a total of 1,092 cases and 65 deaths, while 283 cases and four deaths have been reported to date in Newfoundland and Labrador. Prince Edward Island has three active cases out of 63 total infections, with no deaths so far.
In Central Canada, Manitoba saw a new record of 146 positive tests, bringing its total to 2,925. The death toll rose to 37 after two more people died, while 1,514 people have recovered from the virus.
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Saskatchewan reported 25 new cases and no new deaths. The province has seen 2,199 cases and 25 deaths to date, along with 1,920 recoveries.
Further west, Alberta added another 243 new cases and one more death, taking the province’s totals to 21,199 cases and 287 deaths. A total of 18,223 patients have recovered.
British Columbia reported 158 new cases, five of which are considered “epidemiologically linked,” meaning they have not been confirmed though laboratory testing. The province has seen 10,697 confirmed cases and 195 epi-linked cases to date.
No new deaths were reported in B.C., keeping the death toll at 250, while 9,112 recoveries have been confirmed.
None of the three territories reported new cases on Wednesday.
The Northwest Territories has seen five cases to date, all of which have recovered. The territory’s last case was reported over six months ago.
The Yukon said Wednesday that a presumptive case has come back negative, keeping its total at 15 cases — all of which have recovered.
While Nunavut says it has seen no local confirmed cases, several positive cases have been confirmed in out-of-territory workers at a pair of local mines. All of those cases have been counted by their home jurisdictions.
With daily cases at an all-time high as the weather turns colder, Canada’s chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam is urging everyone to get their flu shot to protect themselves from influenza this fall and winter.
“Although the (flu shot) doesn’t protect against infection with the virus that causes (COVID-19), it helps reduce your risk of getting the flu,” Tam wrote on Twitter Wednesday. “Having both illnesses close together in time, or at the same time, could put you at higher risk for severe illness.”
Worldwide, the coronavirus pandemic has infected at least 38.4 million people to date, over 1.09 million of whom have died, according to Johns Hopkins University.
While the United States continues to lead the world in cases and deaths, India has recently surpassed seven million cases and is approaching the U.S. total of 7.9 million at an alarming rate.
Over 216,000 people have died in the U.S., well above the world’s second-highest death toll of 151,000 in Brazil, which has the third highest number of cases at 5.1 million.
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