Canadian provinces report record new COVID-19 cases

OTTAWA, Dec. 30 (Xinhua) -- Ontario and Quebec, the two most populous provinces in Canada, reported single-day records of new cases of COVID-19 Wednesday morning.

Ontario reported 2,923 new COVID-19 cases Wednesday, the highest single-day record since the province confirmed the first coronavirus case in late January.

The record marks a sharp increase over Tuesday's record 2,553 cases in Canada's most populous province, bringing its COVID-19 case total to 178,831, including deaths.

At present, there are 1,177 COVID-19 patients in the hospital, the highest number of admissions since the start of the pandemic. Of those, 324 are being treated in intensive care and 204 require ventilators to breathe, according to the Ontario government on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Quebec reported 2,511 new cases on Wednesday, which is the highest single-day increase the province has recorded since the COVID-19 pandemic began.

It brought the total number of COVID-19 cases in Quebec to 199,822, including deaths.

Hospitalizations in the province jumped by 80 from Tuesday to Wednesday and there are now 1,211 people hospitalized.

As of Wednesday noon, Canada reported a total of 570,940 COVID-19 cases and 15,438 deaths, according to CTV.

The Canadian population is about 37 million. Out of it, Ontario has about 15 million while Quebec has 8.6 million.