COVID-19 pandemic in Canada

COVID-19 pandemic in Canada
The results of panic buying in Halifax, Nova Scotia
Quebec police stop vehicles on the Macdonald-Cartier Bridge
An empty Yonge–Dundas Square in Toronto
Mass-vaccination site at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal, Quebec
A sign encouraging social distancing in Nanaimo, British Columbia
The COVID Alert app developed by Shopify and Health Canada
(clockwise from top)
DiseaseCOVID-19
Virus strainSARS-CoV-2
LocationCanada
First outbreakWuhan, Hubei, China
Index caseToronto, Ontario
Arrival dateJanuary 25, 2020[1]
(4 years, 2 months and 3 days)
Confirmed cases4,915,977 (as of January 26, 2024)
  • * It is estimated that most cases have gone unreported and that at least 75% of people in Canada were infected with at least one of the COVID-19 variants at some point.[2]
Deaths
57,905
Fatality rate1.18%
Vaccinations
  • Vaccinated: 32,320,750 (83.00%):[3]
  • - One dose only: 137,295 (0.35%)
  • - Two doses only: 12,868,886 (33.05%)
  • - Three doses only: 13,746,054 (35.30%)
  • - Four doses: 5,568,515 (14.30%)
  • Non-vaccinated: 6,619,913 (17.00%)
  • * On November 12, 2022, the Government of Canada transitioned to a new system of collecting data on vaccinated persons. This data is much less detailed and no overview exists that would provide a clear picture of how many persons have had one, two, three, or four doses (or more), so this data will no longer be updated.
Government website
canada.ca/coronavirus

The COVID-19 pandemic in Canada is part of the ongoing worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). It is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Most cases over the course of the pandemic have been in Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia and Alberta. Confirmed cases have been reported in all of Canada's provinces and territories.[4][5]

The virus was confirmed to have reached Canada on January 25, 2020, after an individual who had returned to Toronto from Wuhan, Hubei, China, tested positive. The first case of community transmission in Canada was confirmed in British Columbia on March 5.[6] In March 2020, as cases of community transmission were confirmed, all of Canada's provinces and territories declared states of emergency. Provinces and territories implemented, to varying degrees, school and daycare closures, prohibitions on gatherings, closures of non-essential businesses and restrictions on entry. Canada severely restricted its border access, barring travelers from all countries with some exceptions. The federal Minister of Health invoked the Quarantine Act, introduced following the 2002–2004 SARS outbreak.[7] For the first time in its legislative history, the act was used, legally requiring all travelers (excluding essential workers) returning to the country to self-isolate for 14 days, until rules were changed to accommodate fully vaccinated travelers. Between July and November, the four Atlantic provinces

By mid to late summer of 2020, the country saw a steady decline in active cases until the beginning of late summer. In July, the four Atlantic provinces formed the Atlantic Bubble, which allowed unrestricted movement for provincial residents. Through autumn, there was a resurgence of cases in all provinces and territories.[8] On September 23, 2020, Prime Minister Trudeau declared that Canada was experiencing a "second wave" of the virus.[9] New restrictions from provincial governments were put in place once again as cases increased, including variations of regional lockdowns. In late November, the Atlantic Bubble was disbanded because of the second wave. The federal government passed legislation to approve further modified economic aid for businesses and individuals.[10]

Nation-wide cases, hospitalizations and deaths spiked during and after the Christmas and holiday season in December, 2020 and January, 2021. Alarmed by hospital capacity issues, fatalities and new cases, heavy restrictions (such as lockdowns and curfews) were put in place in affected areas (primarily Ontario, Quebec, and Alberta) and across the country. These lockdowns caused active cases to steadily decline, reaching a plateau in active cases in mid-February 2021. During a third wave of the virus, cases began rising across most provinces west of Atlantic Canada in mid-March,[11] prompting further lockdowns and restrictions in the most populous provinces of Ontario and Quebec.[11][12] Due to a relatively low volume of cases in the Atlantic provinces, the travel-restricted Atlantic Bubble was planned to reopen;[13] however, in late April, the third wave had spread to the Atlantic provinces. In response, Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia reinstated travel bans toward the rest of the country.

Following Health Canada's approval of the Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, and later the mRNA-1273 vaccine developed by Moderna, mass vaccinations began nationwide on December 14, 2020.[14][15] On February 26, 2021, Health Canada approved the Oxford–AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine for use,[16] and on March 5, 2021, they additionally approved the Janssen COVID-19 vaccine for a total of four approved vaccines in the nation.[17] However, most provinces discontinued first doses of Oxford-AstraZeneca by May 12, 2021,[18] while the administration of the Janssen vaccine was determined unnecessary.[19] Canada became one of the most vaccinated countries in the world, with a continually high uptake of the vaccine.[20] Despite high general uptake of the vaccine, cases began to surge particularly amongst the unvaccinated population in provinces like Alberta, which had removed nearly all pandemic restrictions.[citation needed]

Near the end of summer 2021, cases began to surge across Canada, notably in the provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, Quebec and Ontario, particularly amongst the unvaccinated population. During this fourth wave of the virus, return to pandemic restrictions such as mask mandates were reinstated in provinces like British Columbia and Alberta.[21] The surge in cases was largely deemed to be a "pandemic of the unvaccinated"[22] and resulted in the introduction of vaccine passports, for all provinces and two of the territories.[23][24] Federally, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau instated requirements for vaccination in order to partake in air travel, as well as those who ride Via Rail and Rocky Mountaineer trains as of October 30, 2021. Additionally, the mandate included any federally regulated workers.[25][26] In January 2022, all of Canada's provinces and territories were experiencing record-level case numbers, primarily driven by the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, which caused provincial and territorial governments to reintroduce restrictions surrounding travel and isolation. However, in mid-February active caseloads and hospitalizations began to decrease and towards the end of February 2022, almost all provinces and territories had announced plans to lift restrictions by early March or mid-March 2022, if epidemiology remained favorable.[27]

  1. ^ Marchand-Senécal, Xavier; Kozak, Rob; Mubareka, Samira; Salt, Natasha; Gubbay, Jonathan B; Eshaghi, Alireza; Allen, Vanessa; Li, Yan; Bastien, Natalie; Gilmour, Matthew; Ozaldin, Omar; Leis, Jerome A (March 9, 2020). "Diagnosis and Management of First Case of COVID-19 in Canada: Lessons applied from SARS". Clinical Infectious Diseases. ciaa227 (16): 2207–2210. doi:10.1093/cid/ciaa227. PMC 7108147. PMID 32147731.
  2. ^ "75% of Canadians were infected by virus by spring 2023". Retrieved January 26, 2024.
  3. ^ "Demographics: COVID-19 vaccination coverage in Canada - Canada.ca". July 21, 2023.
  4. ^ "Tracking every case of COVID-19 in Canada". Health Infobase Canada. Retrieved April 16, 2023.
  5. ^ Canada, Public Health Agency of (April 19, 2020). "COVID-19 daily epidemiology update". aem. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  6. ^ Slaughter, Graham (March 5, 2020). "Canada confirms first 'community case' of COVID-19: Here's what that means". CTVNews. Archived from the original on March 8, 2020. Retrieved March 14, 2020.
  7. ^ McQuigge, Michelle (March 25, 2020). "The Quarantine Act explained, as isolation becomes mandatory for some". CTV News. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
  8. ^ Kestler-D'Amours, Jillian (November 15, 2020). "COVID-19 counts continue to rise as Canada approaches 300,000 cases". CTV News. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
  9. ^ "Justin Trudeau's address to the nation: 'The second wave is underway' [Full transcript] - Macleans.ca". Maclean's.
  10. ^ "CERB ends for millions of Canadians, new EI program takes its place - NEWS 1130". citynews1130.com.
  11. ^ a b Lowrie, Morgan (March 22, 2021). "Cases of COVID-19 variants on the rise in Canada, fuelling concerns over third wave". CTV News.
  12. ^ Ross, Selena (March 31, 2021). "Three Quebec cities to go into special lockdown, with four regions reversed to red zones". Montreal.
  13. ^ Ross, Shane (April 13, 2021). "May 3 targeted as new date for reopening of Atlantic bubble". CBC News.
  14. ^ Aiello, Rachel (December 10, 2020). "What we know about where Canada's first COVID-19 vaccines are going". CTV News.
  15. ^ Jones, Ryan Patrick (December 23, 2020). "Health Canada approves Moderna COVID-19 vaccine". CBC News.
  16. ^ "Canada approves AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine". Global News. Retrieved March 10, 2021.
  17. ^ Jones, Ryan Patrick (March 5, 2021). "Health Canada approves 4th COVID-19 vaccine as Pfizer agrees to accelerate deliveries". CBC News.
  18. ^ Thompson, Nicole (May 12, 2021). "More provinces are limiting the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine". CTV News. Retrieved August 5, 2021.
  19. ^ Tasker, John Paul (June 29, 2021). "Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine is in limbo with no additional Canadian shipments planned". CBC News. Retrieved August 5, 2021.
  20. ^ "To avoid 15,000 daily COVID-19 cases next month, Canada urged to increase vaccination rates, uphold public health measures". The Globe and Mail.
  21. ^ "'We're in big trouble': Doctors worry Canada's fourth wave of COVID-19 could be biggest yet | Globalnews.ca". Global News.
  22. ^ "90% of Canada's COVID-19 cases are among unvaccinated, feds say - National | Globalnews.ca". Global News.
  23. ^ "Vaccine passports coming, Furey says, as N.L. reports 5 new cases". CBC News. September 7, 2021.
  24. ^ Austen, Ian (September 3, 2021). "Vaccine Passports Roll Out, and So Do Unruly Anti-Vaccine Protests". The New York Times. Archived from the original on September 3, 2021.
  25. ^ Secretariat, Treasury Board of Canada (August 13, 2021). "Government of Canada to require vaccination of federal workforce and federally regulated transportation sector". canada.ca.
  26. ^ "Prime Minister announces mandatory vaccination for the federal workforce and federally regulated transportation sectors" (Press release). Prime Minister of Canada. October 6, 2021. Retrieved November 6, 2021.
  27. ^ Harris, Sophie (February 17, 2022). "Several provinces are dropping vaccine passports, but some businesses aren't on board". CBC National.

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