Canada passes 100,000 COVID-19 cases

TRENTON, Canada

Confirmed coronavirus cases passed the 100,000 mark Thursday in Canada, according to Johns Hopkins University figures.

The new 101,492 figure places Canada at number 18 on the list of countries with cases, behind such nations like the US, Brazil, Russia, India and the UK.

The death toll in Canada is 8,312.

But some health officials said the 100,000 figure may be skewed.

“It may look like a milestone but I don’t think that it’s a really accurate number,” Sandy Buchman, a palliative care physician and head of the Canadian Medical Association told CTV News. “Testing wasn’t adequate for a long time.”

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday as Canada opens more businesses, parks and services, it is “crucial” testing continues and a new COVID-19 tracking system be up and running in coming weeks.

The coronavirus contact tracing uses an app on a mobile devices that collects confirmed cases and tells users if they have been exposed to the virus.

The system has raised privacy concerns but the app will be “completely voluntary” and will not keep data on users, Trudeau said.

“At no time will personal information be collected and shared and no location services will be used,” he said. “I want to stress that this will be completely voluntary,” Trudeau said. “It will be up to individual Canadians to decide whether to download the app or not.

“But the app will be most effective when as many people use it as possible,” he added.

Variations of the system are already in use in the UK, Switzerland, Italy, Poland and Latvia.

Canada is continuing to review smartphone apps from various companies.

The system will first be tested in Ontario, Canada’s most populated province that has 14.6 million people, with 2.9 million residents in Toronto.