canada Variant cases have almost quadrupled in Canada in the last 2 weeks Canada's chief medical officer on Saturday said coronavirus variants of concern have almost quadrupled in the country in the last two weeks. Dr. Theresa Tam said Canada had seen 24,995 variant cases as of Thursday. That's compared to 6,325 such cases on March 24. "Where #VariantsOfConcern are surging, jurisdictions have tightened restrictions," read a post by Tam on Twitter. "This is difficult & discouraging for all of us, but more so for healthcare & essential workers who continue to provide vital supplies, care and supports to us."

ontario Ontario reports record-high 4,456 new COVID-19 cases Sunday Toronto critical care doctor urges government to pave way for out-of-province ICU nurses to come help Ontario reported another 4,456 cases of COVID-19 on Sunday — a new record in the province. The daily case count is also up from 3,813 cases on Saturday and 4,227 on Friday. The province is also reporting 21 additional deaths. New cases reported Sunday include 1,353 in Toronto, 860 in Peel Region, 444 in York Region, 329 in Durham Region, and 377 in Ottawa, according to health minister Christine Elliott. As of 8 p.m. on Saturday, 3,139,743 vaccine doses were administered. The seven-day average climbed again to 3,573 cases from 3,371 on Saturday.