A total of 6,699 new novel coronavirus cases were reported across Canada, the lowest number since April 6 when 6,521 new infections were detected.
The total number of active cases of the virus in Canda also fell to 82,700 on Tuesday, as 7,493 new recoveries were reported.
In a series of tweets on Tuesday, the country’s top doctor, Theresa Tam, said while Canada is “making progress nationally,” there are “still a few tricky spots.”
She said the decline in national case counts has slowed to a less than a two-per cent decrease over the past week.
“As we move through this rough period, we can be optimistic,” she wrote. “As #COVID19Vaccines supply expands and more and more Canadians roll up a sleeve, there is a real sense of hope & solidarity in the air.”
According to Vaccine Tracker Canada, 34.4 per cent of eligible Canadians have now received at least one dose of a vaccine.
As Canada ramps up its vaccination campaign, the country is set to receive up to 36 million doses of the mRNA vaccines within the next two months, including 24.2 million Pfizer vaccine doses and between 10 and 12 million from Moderna.
Further, on Wednesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that a shipment of one million Moderna COVID-19 doses which were originally scheduled to arrive next week will instead arrive Wednesday evening.
A government official also confirmed to Global News that the country will have received 6.4 million AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines by the end of June.
Speaking at the press conference on Tuesday, Trudeau reassured Canadians that all of the approved COVID-19 vaccines are “safe and effective,” adding that the public “should feel confident” about getting a shot.
Thousands of new cases in the provinces
Ontario, which has been especially hard-hit by the third wave of the pandemic, reported 2,791 new cases on Tuesday.
Provincial health officials also said 25 more people have died.
Tuesday’s case count is the lowest increase in daily cases the province has reported since April 1, when 2,557 new infections were recorded.
Meanwhile in Quebec, 797 new cases were detected and health authorities said 15 more people have died after falling ill.
In Canada’s Prairie region, nearly 500 new cases were reported.
Saskatchewan saw 189 new cases and one new fatality, while Manitoba added 291 new infections and one more death.
Atlantic Canada reported several new cases on Tuesday as well.
Nova Scotia health officials said 153 more people have contracted the virus and two more people have died.
New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador each added four new cases but neither province reported any new deaths related to the coronavirus.
Meanwhile, health officials in Prince Edward Island said one new infection was detected within the province on Tuesday.
In Western Canada, thousands of new cases of the virus were reported.
British Columbia saw 697 new cases of COVID-19 and health officials said one more person has died.
Meanwhile in hard-hit Alberta, 1,743 more people have fallen ill, and health officials confirmed nine more fatalities have occurred.
On Tuesday, the Alberta provincial government announced new, more stringent measures geared towards stemming the spread of the virus.
The new measures, set to take effect on Friday, include shifting students in Kindergarten to Grade 12 to at-home learning, and limiting capacity at retail shops to no more than 10 per cent.
The Northwest Territories reported 12 new cases of the virus on Tuesday, while Nunavut reported seven new infections.
Nunavut’s capital declared a state of emergency on Monday and Yellowknife in the neighbouring N.W.T. closed its schools.
Global cases near 154 million
The total number of COVID-19 cases worldwide approached 154 million on Tuesday.
As of Tuesday evening, a total of 153,943,676 people around the world have contracted the virus, according to the latest tally from Johns Hopkins University.
Since the virus was first detected in late 2019, it has claimed 3,222,832 lives globally.
The United States has seen the most cases of COVID-19 with over 32.5 million reported cases.
India has seen the second-highest number of infections at 20.2 million.
The country has been devastated by a new, more transmissible variant of the virus known as B.1.617.
India’s hospitals, morgues and crematoriums have been overwhelmed by the surge in new cases and fatalities.
Canada has pledged $10 million in aid for the country, and has identified medical equipment within its emergency stockpile to send to India as it struggles to contain the spread of the virus.
— With a file from Global News’ Emerald Besadoun and The Canadian Press