Canada adds record 4,060 new coronavirus cases, 32 deaths Sunday

Canadian health officials confirmed a record 4,060 more cases of the novel coronavirus on Sunday and said 32 more people had died.

Since the pandemic began, the country has reported 263,275 infections and 10,521 deaths, while 215,005 people have recovered and more than 12.3 million tests have been administered.

Sunday marked the first time the daily total of new COVID-19 cases in Canada exceeded 4,000.

The data released is incomplete, however, as British Columbia, Prince Edward Island and Canada’s three territories did not provide updates through the weekend.

In Quebec, 114,820 people have been diagnosed with COVID-19 — almost half of the country’s confirmed infections.

On Sunday, the province reported a record 1,397 new COVID-19 cases, marking highest single-day total since the pandemic began and the fifth day in a row more than 1,000 people had been diagnosed with the virus despite undergoing an extended COVID-19 lockdown in densely populated areas. There were nine deaths, two of which occurred in the last 24 hours.

In chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam’s annual report, she noted that results from antibody testing done in Quebec showed the total number of COVID-19 cases among the population was “estimated to be more than three times higher than the number of reported cases by July.”

Health officials said that as of Sunday, 6,440 people had died from COVID-19 in Quebec, while more than 3.3 million had been tested and 97,789 cases were considered resolved.

In Ontario, Peel Region imposed stricter COVID-19 restrictions after the province moved the region into a red zone. The news came as Ontario reported its second-consecutive day of record-setting confirmed case numbers of the virus.

In Ontario, 1,328 new cases of the virus were detected, bringing the provincial tally to 84,153. Health authorities said 13 more people had died from the virus, bringing the death toll to 3,233. Of the province’s confirmed cases, 71,815 have recovered while more than 5.3 million tests have been conducted.  

“It is time to shrink our lives to stop COVID-19 from growing completely out of control,” Peel’s interim medical officer of health Dr. Lawrence Loh said in a written statement.

“These directives are strict, but they are what is needed to keep people in Peel working and learning, and able to access food, medical care and the basics of everyday life.”

Alberta health officials said Sunday that six more people had died from COVID-19, moving the provincial total to 363. The province’s overall case count went up to 33,507 after officials diagnosed 727 more cases of the virus. So far, nearly 1.9 million tests have been administered throughout the province while more than 26,000 people have recovered after falling ill.

In Saskatchewan, provincial health authorities detected 114 new infections and one new death was recorded. To date, 3,897 people in the province have been infected with the virus and 28 people have died. Health officials have conducted 281,516 tests and 2,747 cases are now considered resolved.

Manitoba chief provincial public health officer Dr. Brent Roussin said Sunday that southern Manitoba would be moving into the critical red zone after the province detected a spike of 52 new cases in the region.

Overall, the province has seen 8,130 confirmed infections, 441 of which were reported on Sunday. Three more people died from COVID-19 in Manitoba, increasing the death toll to 106. More than 285,269 tests have been administered throughout the province and 3,175 people have recovered after falling ill.

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“We’ve been messaging to Manitobans for quite some time about the importance of the fundamentals and to reduce their contacts, but as we can see our cases have gone in the wrong direction,” said Roussin.

“We’re seeing more cases, more strain on our health-care system and so further action is required.”

A single new case of COVID-19 was reported by provincial health authorities in New Brunswick on Sunday. So far, the province has recorded 354 cases of the virus and six deaths. Of those who have been diagnosed, 324 have recovered and 106,869 tests have been conducted for the virus.

Newfoundland and Labrador also reported one new case of COVID-19, bringing the province’s overall number to 297. To date, four people have died from the virus while 286 of the province’s cases are considered resolved. More than 54,686 tests for the virus have been administered.

Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil said he was “concerned” about recent rises in cases and public exposure notices after the province reported three new cases of the virus on Sunday.

Nova Scotia has seen a total of 1,128 confirmed infections and 65 deaths. Of those, 1,043 residents have recovered after falling ill while 117,998 tests have been conducted for the virus.