Chief public health officer acknowledged, COVID-19 related deaths in Canada have exceeded the national projections

The chief public health officer has acknowledged that the number of deaths as a result of COVID-19 in Canada has now exceeded the national projections for potentially 3,883 deaths by May 5.

Just over 4,100 people have died in Canada to date.

Tam says the increased number of deaths is due to the tragic fact that those who were infected weeks ago are now coming to the end stages of COVID-19, and are passing away, most often those in long-term care facilities.

But Dr. Theresa Tam points out that the epidemic still appears to be slowing down and that the doubling time for infections is now at about 20 days.

Nearly 1 million people in Canada tested for COVID-19

The country's chief public health officer says to date, over 970,000 people have been tested for COVID-19 in Canada.

Dr. Theresa Tam says about six per cent of those tests were positive.

The number of tests being carried out in Canada are of increased importance as provinces begin to slowly reopen their economies in tandem with increased COVID-19 surveillance.