Drastic variance in number of COVID cases across Canada

It was a day of disparity in Canada's protracted battle against the novel coronavirus, with some provinces recording alarmingly high numbers of infections on Sunday while at least one province (Nova Scotia) managed to whittle new cases to zero.

Ontario set a daily record with 3,945 COVID-19 cases, while neighbouring Quebec's elevated case load showed little sign of abating with 2,588 new infections.

The country's lopsided pandemic is evident when comparing those figures with provinces farther east, where Newfoundland and Labrador saw its first new case in several days on Sunday and Nova Scotia — the most populous province in Atlantic Canada — had none.

In the west, while Saskatchewan reported no new COVID-19 deaths for the first time in a week on Sunday, it still had 307 new infections while Manitoba recorded 151. Saskatchewan reported seven COVID-19 deaths on Saturday.

And on the same day that Alberta recorded 811 new cases of the novel coronavirus, New Brunswick had 14 — a massive gap even given the large population differences.

Dr. Theresa Tam, chief public health officer of Canada, said on Twitter that disease activity remains widespread and the country remains on a path of “continuing resurgence.”

Though vaccines will help gain “lasting control” over the virus, she said an “all Canadian effort” is needed to keep up the pace of progress.

As cases continued to rise — or fall, depending on the province — new rules and strong words took aim at the pandemic's seemingly inexorable advance in Canada.

Quebec's new curfew is perhaps one of the most severe steps taken by a province to curb its rising caseload. Dozens of residents are facing fines for violating the province's 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew.

In Ontario, Premier Doug Ford warned his province will see “turbulent waters” over the coming months.

“Our health care system is on the brink of being overwhelmed and we must take every precaution to keep our most vulnerable safe,” he said on Twitter. “I know it's been challenging. I'm asking one more time. We need to band together, we need to stick together.”

Federal politicians also weighed in on the virus's spread on Sunday.

The leaders of the federal NDP and Green Party were among those who descended on a Toronto-area nursing home to call for more action and urgency in vaccinating at-risk seniors and supporting overworked staff in such facilities.