Quebec and Nova Scotia set new records for their daily case counts on Sunday while Ontario reported 4,177 additional infections, 800 more than the previous day. Dr. Adalsteinn Brown, head of the Ontario COVID-19 Science Table, had warned Thursday that while hospitalizations in his province had remained fairly steady, he expected a spike in two to three weeks. WATCH | Canadians scramble to find rapid tests: Canadians scramble to find rapid COVID-19 tests Duration 2:00 Rapid COVID-19 tests are becoming the hottest holiday item, with long lineups at various sites handing them out across the country. 2:00The fifth wave has also sparked a rush for booster shots as the Omicron variant has caused a surge of infections among both vaccinated and unvaccinated Canadians. What's happening around the worldAs of Sunday, more than 274.5 million cases of COVID-19 had been reported worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins University.

Source: CBC News December 19, 2021 20:02 UTC