COVID cases in Ont., Que. hold steady, while feds warn severe illness is on the rise

Federal officials say COVID-19 case counts in Canada seem to be on the decline, but warn that infection rates are still highest among the people most vulnerable to severe illness.

In a daily update, Dr. Theresa Tam says Canada has averaged 6,309 new diagnoses a day over the past week, and 148 deaths from the illness each day.

But Tam says she expects that cases of severe illness will continue to rise, because it takes several days for symptoms to get bad enough to require hospitalization.

The downward trend in infections seems to be holding steady in two of Canada's hardest-hit provinces.

Ontario marked a fourth consecutive day of fewer than 3,000 daily cases, reporting 2,632 new infections, as well as 46 more deaths linked to the virus.

Quebec reported 1,624 new cases, a slight uptick from yesterday, but maintained a five-day streak of fewer than 2,000 diagnoses.