Last week, the federal government was projecting up to 700 deaths by Apr. 16. The total is now more than 1,200.
The number of Canadians who have died because of the COVID-19 pandemic is now over 1,200 — more than double the lower estimates in federal projections published last week.
The surge in deaths is due to unexpected outbreaks of the disease in long-term care facilities, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said today.
Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s chief public health officer, released the federal government’s COVID-19 modelling on Apr. 9. The projections included a number of scenarios and long-term forecasts, including a death toll of between 11,000 and 22,000 over the course of the pandemic — even with the maintenance of physical distancing and other disease control measures.
The projections also included a shorter-term forecast, projecting between 22,580 and 31,850 reported cases and between 500 and 700 deaths in Canada by Apr. 16.
While the number of reported cases — 29,826, according to Thursday’s count by the federal government — is within that range, the number of deaths is significantly higher. According to a count by CBC News, Canada has 1,240 reported pandemic deaths as of this afternoon.
