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Canada passes 10,000 deaths due to Covid-19 pandemic
Fatalities reached 10,000 on Tuesday, with an additional 28 deaths reported in the country, while the total confirmed cases spiked to 222,654, an increase of over 20% over the past fortnight.
Canada’s death toll from the Covid-19 pandemic has crossed 10,000, with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau warning that if the current trajectory of the winter surge continues, it may well impact family gatherings during the upcoming Christmas season.
Fatalities reached 10,000 on Tuesday, with an additional 28 deaths reported in the country, while the total confirmed cases spiked to 222,654, an increase of over 20% over the past fortnight.
Some of that was attributed by public health officials to the gatherings to celebrate Thanksgiving in the country on October 12, with the virus being spread during the period and reflecting in the latest uptick in numbers.
The Canadian PM said the current second wave conditions in the country “sucks”.
Given that context, Trudeau underscored that people’s behaviour in the weeks ahead could dictate how Christmas is observed this year.
“Unless we’re really, really careful, there may not be the kinds of family gatherings we want to have at Christmas,” he said, during a media interaction.
“It’s going to be a tough winter,” he said, even as the tallies for new infections have recorded new highs in several provinces like Ontario and Quebec in recent days, surpassing single-day numbers during the peak of the coronavirus crisis in spring this year.
However, even as cases mount, deaths remain relatively low when compared with March and April.
The spike is partly being driven by Covid “fatigue” among younger Canadians, with those in the 20 to 29 bracket accounting for 18% of new cases, the largest group, with nearly 50% of fresh infections being reported from those below the age of 40.
However, authorities have also said that more restrictive measures like the sort of lockdowns seen earlier this year are not under consideration at this time.
