Canada added 997 new cases of the novel coronavirus over the past 24 hours, though the national case count increased by another 40 cases that were delayed in reporting.
The new cases bring the country’s total COVID-19 diagnoses to 141,789, while five new deaths linked to the virus bring the death toll to 9,205. A total of 123,715 patients have recovered from the coronavirus, while more than 7.6 million tests have been administered.
Friday’s increase stands as the highest uptick since May 25, which saw 1,010 new infections across Canada.
Daily reported cases of the virus continue to follow a sharp increase across Canada, with the new infections averaging at 849 new cases a day over the past week, according to Canada’s chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam.
In a press conference Friday, Tam said that it was too soon to tell if Canadians were witnessing a long-warned second wave of the virus despite the sharp increase in cases.
“This situation increases the likelihood that we could lose the ability to keep COVID-19 cases at manageable levels,” said Tam. “Now is the time for Canadians to redouble their efforts with personal precautions that will slow the spread of the virus.”
On Friday, president of the Public Health Agency of Canada Tina Namiesniowski also resigned amid the country’s growing case levels.
In a letter to staff released by the agency, Namiesniowski said that she wanted to take a break from her role and “step aside so someone else can step up” to co-ordinate Canada’s COVID-19 response.
Ontario announced the highest increase in cases on Friday, with 401 new infections and no new deaths.
The new cases bring the province’s total case count to 46,077 while its death toll stands at 2,825.
Quebec added 297 cases of the virus, bringing its provincial total to 66,653. One new death was also recorded by the province, but health authorities say it had occurred at an unknown date.
The province’s death toll stands at 5,792 — the highest in Canada — while over 52,000 patients have recovered from the virus.
British Columbia added 179 new cases of the virus on Friday, though seven of those cases are considered “epidemiologically linked,” which refers to patients that are related to confirmed cases and show symptoms of the virus, but have not been formally tested.
Forty of the cases announced on Friday were also considered historical however, dating back to early August.
The cases bring British Columbia’s total lab-confirmed cases to 7,720, while the province’s death toll has been increased to 223 after three new deaths were reported.
Alberta reported 107 new cases of the coronavirus on Friday, bringing its total lab-confirmed cases to 16,381. Health authorities also added one additional death in the province, raising its total number of fatalities to 255.
Saskatchewan added 19 new cases of the virus on Friday, raising its total case count to 1,776. Twenty-four people have succumbed to the virus in the province, while another 1,639 patients have recovered.
Manitoba reported 40 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday and no new deaths, raising the province’s total infections to 1,540. The province’s cases are comprised of an unknown number of infections considered probable, however.
Manitoba’s death toll stands at 16, while another 1,199 patients have recovered.
Newfoundland and Labrador also reported one new case of the virus on Friday — its first new case in six days. A total of 272 people have been infected with COVID-19 there since the pandemic first began, while three have since succumbed to the virus.
New Brunswick and Nova Scotia reported zero new cases of the virus on Friday during their daily updates.
An extension of U.S.-Canada border closure, a deal which was set to expire Sept. 21, was also announced on Friday. The agreement will now extend the border closure to at least Oct. 21 — a closure that was first implemented to curb the spread of the virus.
Cases of the virus have now surpassed over 30.3 million worldwide, according to a running tally kept by Johns Hopkins University. A total of 949,486 people have also died, with the United States, Brazil and India continuing to lead in both cases and deaths.
— With files from Global News’ Katie Dangerfield, Kalina LaFrambroise, Kerri Breen, Andrew Russell and The Canadian Press.
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