Canada Reports Record High of 14,934 New Daily COVID-19 Cases

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] Canada's daily new COVID-19 cases have reached the highest record since the pandemic began in early last year.

On the 22nd (local time), according to Canadian local media such as CTV, the number of new COVID-19 cases in Canada was recorded at 14,934. Compared to the beginning of this month when about 3,000 cases were reported daily, the number has nearly quintupled in less than a month.

On this day, major regions in Canada such as Quebec, British Columbia (BC), and Alberta recorded their highest daily case counts by province.

The 7-day average of new cases recently also reached a record high of 10,479 since the outbreak of COVID-19. The positivity rate on the 22nd was 7.7%.

Canadian health authorities report that the Omicron variant of COVID-19 has become the dominant strain in 3 to 4 provinces.

Quebec, which has recorded the highest daily new cases for three consecutive days, found that nearly 80% of cases were of the Omicron variant.

Theresa Tam, Chief Public Health Officer of Canada, warned, "According to predictive models, a very high number of new cases may occur until early January next year," adding, "Urgent measures are needed immediately to slow the rate of increase."

Health officials especially expressed concern about the nationwide increase in severe cases.

Officer Tam urged people to postpone their Christmas travel and visit plans, stating that the rapid spread of the Omicron variant could suddenly put pressure on the healthcare system.

Quebec added new measures on this day to strengthen restrictions on restaurant seating and private gatherings to no more than six people, to be implemented after Christmas.

Canada (population 38 million) has a vaccination completion rate of 87% among those aged 12 and older.

Among children aged 5 to 11, 32% have received at least one vaccine dose.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.