The arrival of the first doses of vaccines in the country by the end of the year will be more than welcome, the pandemic having continued to gain ground with the announcement of a new record in Ontario on Monday.
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For a third day in a row, the country’s most populous province broke its record for daily cases by revealing 1,925 more infections (compared to 1,924 on Sunday), as well as 26 deaths.
The arrival of the first doses of Pfizer’s vaccine in the province next week, as announced by the federal government on Monday, brings a wave of hope, but the battle is far from over. “We are still very far from having the millions of vaccines we need for mass immunization,” Prime Minister Doug Ford recalled at a press conference.
Health Minister Christine Elliott reiterated that, vaccine or not, Ontarians should avoid celebrating Christmas with family
Mr. Ford also indicated, like many of his counterparts, that the vaccine will not be compulsory in Ontario. “Constitutionally, I don’t believe you can force every person to take it, and I don’t believe it is the right thing to do.”
Meanwhile, the number of patients continues to climb in the province, which broke two records on Monday with 725 patients with the virus hospitalized, including 213 in intensive care.
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In comparison, Quebec crossed for the first time the milestone of 800 hospitalizations Monday (818), but the Belle Province accumulated half as many patients in intensive care, or 105.
Unlike its neighbor west of the Ottawa River, Quebec has witnessed a further decrease in its number of new cases by announcing 1,577 contaminations and 22 deaths.
Further west, Manitoba and Saskatchewan, with 325 cases and 274 cases respectively, have reported results below their average for the past few days. These two provinces also reported 12 and 1 deaths respectively.
The situation in Canada:
Quebec: 153,176 cases (7,277 deaths)
Ontario: 129,234 cases (3,798 deaths)
Alberta: 68,566 cases (615 deaths)
British Columbia: 36,132 cases (492 deaths) – Data from Friday
Manitoba: 19,131 cases (407 deaths)
Saskatchewan: 10,412 cases (60 deaths)
Nova Scotia: 1,376 cases (65 deaths)
New Brunswick: 536 cases (7 deaths)
Newfoundland and Labrador: 351 cases (4 deaths)
Nunavut: 219 cases
Prince Edward Island: 76 cases
Yukon: 54 cases (1 death)
Northwest Territories: 15 cases
Canadian returnees: 13 cases
Total: 419,300 cases (12,726 deaths)
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