Canada adds 21 new COVID-19 deaths as total cases near 885K

Canada added another 2,325 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, pushing the country’s total caseload past 844,000.

Another 21 deaths linked to the virus were reported as well, with the country’s death toll from COVID-19 standing at 22,213. A total of 831.901 patients have since recovered from contracting the virus, however, while over 25.57 million tests and 2.32 million vaccine doses have since been administered.

The new data comes amid new updates from the country’s top doctor, who said that there have been no unexpected safety issues with the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine across the country.

In a statement Saturday, Canada’s chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam said that there have been a total 1,591 reports of adverse reactions following immunizations as of Feb. 26, but specified that these reactions occur after getting vaccinated and are “not necessarily related to the vaccine or the immunization process.”

According to Tam, severe outcomes linked to contracting COVID-19 continue to decline nationally, though infection rates have either leveled off or increased. Tam also said that the spread of several variants of the virus was a continuing concern in Canada’s fight against the pandemic.

“Until vaccine access fully expands and sufficient levels of population immunity are achieved, and with the continued increase of cases and outbreaks associated with more contagious variants, we must all remain vigilant with public health measures and individual precautions to prevent a rapid shift in trajectory of the epidemic,” read Tam’s statement.

Ontario reported another 990 cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, as well as six new deaths. In Quebec, another 749 infections were reported alongside 10 fatalities.

Alberta’s infection count reached 135,537 on Saturday after another 341 new cases were announced. One more death was announced there on Saturday, as well.

Manitoba added 71 more cases and one new fatality, while Saskatchewan reported 163 new infections and three more deaths.

Several provinces in Atlantic Canada reported new cases as well.

Newfoundland and Labrador reported two new cases while both Nova Scotia and New Brunswick added six. P.E.I. did not report any new cases on Saturday.

Nunavut was the only territory to report new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, with four new infections.

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To date, over 116,468,100 COVID-19 infections have been reported worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins University. A total of 2,587,683 patients have since succumbed to the virus, with the U.S., India, Brazil and Mexico leading in either cases or deaths.