Canada reported 3,589 new COVID-19 cases as of Saturday (Dec. 11) noon, bringing the cumulative total to 1,831,344 cases, including 29,909 deaths, according to CTV.
Quebec province, which has a population of 8.4 million, reported 1,982 new COVID-19 cases Saturday morning while Ontario, the most populous province with 14 million, confirmed 1,607 new cases. Both provinces have seen increased numbers of new cases daily over the past week.
Of Saturday’s new cases reported in Quebec, 1,010 people were not fully vaccinated. The province’s cumulative total cases rose to 464,228, including 11,607 deaths.
Of Ontario’s new cases, 743 cases involved people who were unvaccinated, partially vaccinated, or their vaccination status was unknown. The remaining 864 infections involved people who were fully vaccinated. As of Saturday, Ontario’s cumulative total cases rose to 630,671, including 10,070 deaths.
Canada’s daily case counts are on the rise with high infection rates persisting in many areas.
During the seven-day period between Dec. 3 and 9, an average of 3,450 new cases were reported daily, which was an increase of 22% compared to the previous week, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada on Friday.
The national data issued on Friday showed that an average of 1,457 people with COVID-19 were being treated in Canadian hospitals each day on Dec. 3-9, which was 5% lower than last week.
This included, on average, 458 people who were being treated in intensive care units, 1.6% less than last week, while an average of 20 deaths were reported daily on Dec. 3-9.
While Delta continues to represent the vast majority of recent COVID-19 cases in Canada, as of Dec. 9 there were 87 Omicron cases reported in seven provinces and territories in the country.
The Public Health Agency of Canada released new modeling data on Friday, which showed COVID-19 levels could spike in the coming weeks amid an ongoing wave of Delta infections and the growing threat of Omicron as the holidays rapidly approach.
Omicron is ramping up the push for widespread boosters in Canada, shifting the conversation away from providing added protection to the most vulnerable and toward giving everyone eligible an additional shot to stave off the potential spread of the highly transmissible variant.
As of Dec. 9, Canada had administered over 62.7 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine.
The data indicated that over 81% of the total population had received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, and over 76% were fully vaccinated. Among children aged 5-11 years, 17% received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine. (Xinhua) – jlo
