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Canada’s chief public health officer warned Saturday that current health orders are not enough to stop rapid growth of COVID-19, as provinces push ahead with plans to reopen their economies.
Longer-range forecast models predict a resurgence of COVID-19 infections unless public health measures are enhanced and strictly followed, Dr. Theresa Tam said in a written statement.
“With increasing circulation of highly contagious variants, the threat of uncontrolled epidemic growth is significantly elevated,” she said.
Tam said public health orders across Canada need to be stronger, stricter and sustained long enough to control the rise of variants of concern. High infection rates in the most populous provinces are driving up the country’s average daily case counts, she said.
What’s happening across Canada
As of 6 p.m. ET on Saturday, Canada had reported 961,088 cases of COVID-19, with 42,025 cases considered active. A CBC News tally of deaths stood at 22,852.
Alberta reported 688 new COVID-19 cases and an additional death on Saturday.
Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Deena Hinshaw said 207 of Saturday’s infections are variants of concern and that almost 25 per cent of Alberta’s active COVID-19 cases are variants.
In Saskatchewan, the opposition NDP and a body that represents teachers in the province are calling for faster implementation of rapid tests in schools.
NDP education critic Carla Beck noted some tests were already “on the doorsteps” of some schools in Saskatchewan, but there was still confusion about things like permission forms and procedures for administering them.
WATCH | How businesses and schools use rapid COVID-19 tests:
Manitoba registered 57 more COVID-19 cases and one death on Saturday.
The province also says that it has now administered more than 163,000 vaccine doses and that more than 10 per cent of residents aged 18 or older have received a shot.
Ontario logged 2,453 new cases of COVID-19, the highest single-day total in more than two months. The province also reported 16 more deaths.
Saturday’s daily case count comes before the province moves Hamilton and Eastern Ontario Health Unit into more restricted areas of its colour-coded reopening framework on Monday. As well, five regions in the province’s grey lockdown zone will see some restrictions loosen on Monday and later in April.
WATCH | Is Ontario ending its COVID-19 lockdowns too early?:
Quebec confirmed 1,009 new cases and eight deaths. It’s the first time in a month and a half that the province’s saw more than 1,000 new infections in a single day.
New Brunswick reported 12 new cases on Saturday, all in the Edmundston region.
The province’s northwest remains under tightened restrictions following a spike in variant cases. The area was moved from yellow to red for a four-day “circuit breaker” on Thursday.
Prince Edward Island will open its first mass vaccination clinics on Monday.
The clinics in Charlottetown and Summerside are for the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines, as opposed to the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine, which is being distributed in pharmacies to younger Islanders who must work with the public.
Nova Scotia confirmed five new cases, all in the central health zone. The new cases are close contacts of previously reported cases, including one probable case reported on Friday at Sackville Heights Junior High in Lower Sackville.
In a news release, Premier Iain Rankin said a mobile testing unit will be set up in the Sackville region on Saturday and Sunday.
Newfoundland and Labrador saw no new infections. Effective midnight Saturday, the entire province will move to Alert Level 2, allowing households to keep a “steady 20” group of consistent contacts.
What’s happening around the world
As of Saturday, more than 126.2 million cases of COVID-19 had been reported worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins University, which runs a coronavirus case-tracking tool. The global death toll stood at more than 2.7 million.
In the Americas, Brazil currently accounts for one-quarter of the entire world’s daily COVID-19 deaths, far more than any other single nation, and health experts are warning that the country is on the verge of even greater calamity.
WATCH | Bolsonaro tells Brazilians to ‘stop whining’ as COVID-19 death toll rises:
In Europe, German Health Minister Jens Spahn said the country needs a strict lockdown to last at least 10 to 14 days to reduce the rapid rise of coronavirus infections, which has been fuelled by a more contagious variant.
In Africa, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta restricted travel in the capital Nairobi and four other counties as infections hit record levels in East Africa’s richest economy.
In Asia, Pakistani Minister for Planning and Development Asada Umar said disregard for precautionary measures has led to a sudden rapid increase in the country, and he warned of strict actions if people don’t follow guidelines to counter the spread of the virus.