⁍ Canada reported a new COVID-19 milestone on Monday with total infections rising above 200,000 since the pandemic began in early March.

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⁍ Ontario and Quebec, which account for around 60% of Canada’s 37.6 million people, have seen sharp increases in cases in recent weeks.

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⁍ Less-populated provinces, including Manitoba and Alberta, are also seeing worrying increases.

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– Pandemic H1N1 has now infected more than 40 million people around the world, according to a Reuters tally—and Canada is no exception. The country has now hit a new milestone, with 201,437 cases as of yesterday, a rise of 3,289 over the previous day. Ontario and Quebec, which account for 60% and 40% of Canada’s population, respectively, have seen sharp increases in cases in recent weeks. Less-populated provinces Manitoba and Alberta are also seeing worrying increases. Total cases rose by 3,289 to 201,437 while deaths reached 9,778, an increase of 18 over the previous day, government data released on Monday showed. Although the increase in deaths from COVID-19 remains relatively low in Canada compared with the early months of the pandemic, Canada’s chief medical officer, said on Monday she was concerned the country will see an uptick in ‘severe impacts’ of the virus in the coming weeks. A Reuters tally found the global count of COVID-19 cases had crossed 40 million as of yesterday. Canada announced on Monday that its border with the United States would remain closed until at least Nov. 21, as cases in the US remain high.