Canada Could Lose Ability To Keep COVID-19 Cases At Manageable Levels - Official

Canada Could Lose Ability to Keep COVID-19 Cases at Manageable Levels - Official

A spike of novel coronavirus cases in Canada could jeopardize the country's ability to keep the spread of the pandemic at "manageable levels," Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam said in a statement on Thursday

TORONTO (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 17th September, 2020) A spike of novel coronavirus cases in Canada could jeopardize the country's ability to keep the spread of the pandemic at "manageable levels," Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam said in a statement on Thursday.

As of Thursday, the number of novel coronavirus cases in Canada has surpassed 140,000 with 9,199 virus-related deaths, government data revealed.

"The ongoing increase in new cases being reported daily continues to give cause for concern. With continued circulation of the virus, the situation could change quickly and we could lose the ability to keep COVID-19 cases at manageable levels," Tam said.

A combined 544 new cases in Ontario and Quebec pushed Canada's tally to 140,291, according to data released by provincial health agencies. Since the beginning of September, Canadian authorities have recorded more than 11,000 new infections, including more than 6,000 in the last week alone, according to government data.

Tam attributes the spike in infections to private social gatherings, attended predominantly by young adults. In the span of the last seven days, the Canadian authorities reported an average of 779 daily new infections - a 26 percent increase over the previous week.

According to Canada's public health agency, there are 8,105 active cases throughout the country.