Canada sees increasing daily COVID-19 cases in past days
The Canadian government is reportedly set to announce on Friday that Health Canada has approved the COVID-19 vaccine for children aged five to 11.
Canada reported 1,827 new COVID-19 cases as of Thursday, bringing the cumulative total to 1,758,706 cases, including 1,705,513 recoveries and 29,448 deaths, according to CTV.
Ontario, the most populous province in Canada, reported the highest daily number of new COVID-19 cases since Sept. 24 with 711 new cases of COVID-19 and five deaths on Thursday.
Today's report brings the total number of lab-confirmed cases in Ontario to 609,429, including 9,955 deaths.
The rolling seven-day average in Ontario now stands at 597, which is up from 532 this time last week. There are at least 278 COVID-19 patients, including 129 in the intensive care units (ICU).
Related Stories
Of the 711 new cases on Thursday, 322 are in people who are unvaccinated and 314 are in people fully immunized. There are 47 people with an unknown vaccine status and 28 who are partially vaccinated.
Health experts have previously said the number of COVID-19 infections identified in fully vaccinated individuals will naturally increase as more people get both of their shots. Vaccination helps reduce the risk of severe symptoms related to COVID-19 as well as hospitalization.
Last week, Ontario announced to pause the next step of the reopening plan at least 28 days because of an increase in cases.
On Thursday, 129 COVID-19 new cases were found in schools across Ontario. Of the infections found in schools, 114 were recorded in students, 14 were in staff and one in an unidentified individual.
There are 589 schools with at least one confirmed case and five facilities are currently closed as a result.
Quebec, another populous province, confirmed 720 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday. A total of 205 sufferers are in hospitals with coronavirus symptoms, including 46 in the ICU.
Most of Thursday's cases were recorded among people who had either received their first shot less than two weeks prior or never got a shot at all.
That group accounted for 432 of the 720 newly-reported cases, and 13 of 20 new hospitalizations.
Public health authorities said unvaccinated people are 4.2 times more likely to catch COVID-19, and 15.9 times more likely to be hospitalized than vaccinated people.
Since the COVID-19 in the province, 436,804 people have caught COVID-19. Of that number, there were 419,156 recoveries and 11,550 deaths.
Of the eligible population aged 12 and up, 91 percent of Quebecers have received at least one dose of a vaccine, and 87 percent are fully vaccinated.
The Canadian government is reportedly set to announce on Friday that Health Canada has approved the COVID-19 vaccine for children aged five to 11.
Canada is expecting an accelerated delivery of 2.9 million child-sized doses, enough for a first dose for every child in the five to 11 age group.
In a statement Thursday, Pfizer Canada said the company is prepared to deliver the pediatric doses to Canada shortly following the Health Canada authorization.
