Canada's Daily COVID-19 Cases Are Almost 75% Higher Since September 1
Recently, there has been an unfortunate uptick in Canada's COVID-19 cases. While the public is better informed about the virus then they were months ago, the rise is still occurring fairly quickly. Over just one month, the daily cases rose by nearly 75%.
In a statement released on September 21, Dr. Theresa Tam, the country's Chief Public Health Officer, said that the average daily case count across the country had reached 849 as of September 18.
This marks a significant increase from the beginning of the month. On September 2, the CPHO reported that the daily case count for the previous seven days was 490.
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In addition, the most recent positivity rate for the 47,111 people tested across the country was 1.4%, compared to just 0.9% of the 46,000 people tested in the week before September 2.
Dr. Tam said that the 875 new reported cases in Canada indicate transmission that would have been occurring two weeks ago.
"That means there is a lot of virus circulating," she said, "and things will only get worse if we don’t all do our best to slow the spread of COVID-19."
The CPHO added that the public health authorities cannot handle this new increase all on their own and that fighting against the virus is everyone's responsibility.
That means doing all of the things Canadians have already gotten used to: wearing a mask, washing your hands, and maintaining physical distance whenever possible.
Dr. Tam remarked previously that limiting your social circle was key, saying "every person outside your household/close-contacts bubble significantly increases your risk of exposure to the virus."
In Ontario, a shift in who is getting the virus has occurred, with nearly 70% of the province's cases now being people under the age of 40.
To try and curb the climbing numbers, Premier Doug Ford has promised to institute the highest fines in the country for illegal gatherings, with the potential financial penalty being set at $10,000.