COVID-19: Canada’s death toll surpasses 1,000

More than 1,000 deaths in Canada have been linked to the COVID-19 outbreak, according to a CBC News tally of deaths attributed to the novel coronavirus.

The pandemic has strained health systems, caused deadly outbreaks at long-term care homes and sparked strict public health measures aimed at slowing the spread of the novel virus.

The list, based on publicly available data from provinces and local health units, as well as CBC’s own reporting, put the toll at 1,054 at 1:15 p.m. ET Wednesday.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says it will be “weeks more” before the government can seriously consider loosening public health restrictions aimed at slowing the spread of COVID-19, saying lifting rules too quickly could result in more cases and losing the progress Canada has made in the fight against the novel coronavirus.

There are more than two million recorded coronavirus cases worldwide, according to a database maintained by Johns Hopkins University, with more than 128,000 deaths attributed to the novel virus around the world.

Canada, which has more than 27,000 presumptive and confirmed cases, has introduced widespread public health measures aimed at keeping people at home to slow the spread of COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus.

CBC