Epidemiological summary of COVID-19 cases in Canada

On this page

Information on demographics, symptoms, and outcomes is currently available for 19,580 reported cases in Canada. This is because it takes time for health authorities to gather this information for each individual. The data below should be used to observe trends and not absolute numbers.

A full epidemiologic report is also available in PDF.

Epidemic Curve

The epidemic curve (epi curve) in Figure 1 shows when cases became ill over time. The date of symptom onset for the first case of COVID-19 reported in Canada became ill on January 15, 2020. Additional cases occurred gradually from January to late February. These early cases were among travelers returning to Canada from countries where outbreaks of COVID-19 were already occurring and their close contacts. The number of cases increased sharply in March as the virus began to spread from one person to another in Canadian communities.

The grey zone in Figure 1 shows an incomplete picture. There is a one to two week delay between when people get sick and when their information is reported to the Public Health Agency of Canada. It takes time for people who become ill to seek healthcare, get tested, receive their laboratory result, and for public health authorities to gather information on their illness. More cases will be added as information becomes available.

The number of illnesses in Canada is continuing to increase and has not yet peaked.

Figure 1. COVID-19 cases (n=18,839Footnote 1) in Canada by date of illness onset as of April 19, 2020, 11 am EDT.

*If date of illness onset was not available, the earliest of the following dates was used as an estimate in the following order: Specimen Collection Date, and Laboratory Testing Date.

Figure 1: Text description
Table 1. COVID-19 cases (n=18,839Footnote 1) in Canada by date of illness onset as of April 19, 2020, 11 am EDT
Illness onset Reported casesFootnote 1
2020-01-14 0
2020-01-15 2
2020-01-16 0
2020-01-17 0
2020-01-18 0
2020-01-19 0
2020-01-20 0
2020-01-21 1
2020-01-22 2
2020-01-23 0
2020-01-24 2
2020-01-25 0
2020-01-26 0
2020-01-27 1
2020-01-28 1
2020-01-29 0
2020-01-30 0
2020-01-31 0
2020-02-01 3
2020-02-02 0
2020-02-03 0
2020-02-04 0
2020-02-05 1
2020-02-06 0
2020-02-07 0
2020-02-08 1
2020-02-09 1
2020-02-10 1
2020-02-11 0
2020-02-12 1
2020-02-13 2
2020-02-14 3
2020-02-15 4
2020-02-16 3
2020-02-17 1
2020-02-18 2
2020-02-19 1
2020-02-20 5
2020-02-21 3
2020-02-22 7
2020-02-23 8
2020-02-24 11
2020-02-25 10
2020-02-26 6
2020-02-27 12
2020-02-28 17
2020-02-29 24
2020-03-01 38
2020-03-02 35
2020-03-03 42
2020-03-04 43
2020-03-05 50
2020-03-06 59
2020-03-07 74
2020-03-08 100
2020-03-09 178
2020-03-10 211
2020-03-11 229
2020-03-12 284
2020-03-13 349
2020-03-14 352
2020-03-15 438
2020-03-16 601
2020-03-17 637
2020-03-18 762
2020-03-19 594
2020-03-20 739
2020-03-21 634
2020-03-22 592
2020-03-23 713
2020-03-24 639
2020-03-25 622
2020-03-26 582
2020-03-27 565
2020-03-28 536
2020-03-29 434
2020-03-30 569
2020-03-31 443
2020-04-01 547
2020-04-02 469
2020-04-03 464
2020-04-04 358
2020-04-05 361
2020-04-06 479
2020-04-07 500
2020-04-08 451
2020-04-09 496
2020-04-10 506
2020-04-11 472
2020-04-12 333
2020-04-13 585
2020-04-14 338
2020-04-15 135
2020-04-16 64
2020-04-17 1
2020-04-18 0
2020-04-19 0

Demographics

Of the COVID-19 cases reported in Canada to date, approximately half (55%) are female. Approximately one-third (36%) of cases are 60 years old and over (Figure 2).

Figure 2. Age distribution of COVID-19 cases (n=19,580) in Canada as of April 19, 2020, 11 am EDT
Figure 2: Text description
Table 2. Age distribution of COVID-19 cases (n=19,580) in Canada, April 19, 2020, 11 am EDT
Age group (years) Reported cases Proportion of cases
≤ 19 957 4.89%
20-29 2344 11.97%
30-39 2685 13.71%
40-49 3098 15.82%
50-59 3425 17.49%
60-69 2629 13.43%
70-79 1711 8.74%
80+ 2731 13.95%

Symptoms and severity

Commonly reported symptoms among reported cases include cough (75%), headaches (57%) and weakness (57%).

Based on case reports received to date, 2,210 cases have been hospitalized, including 576 in intensive care.

1,506 have died of COVID-19 to date in Canada.

Probable exposure setting

At this time, 77% of COVID-19 cases were related to community transmission, while 23% were either exposed while travelling or exposed to a traveler coming to Canada (Figure 3).

Figure 3. Probable exposure setting of COVID-19 cases (n=20,058) in Canada as of April 19, 2020, 11 am EDT.

*Community setting is defined as a case that had no known contact with a travel-related case and had not travelled outside of Canada in the 14 days prior to illness onset.

Figure 3: Text description
Table 3. Probable exposure setting of COVID-19 cases (n=20,058) in Canada, April 19, 2020, 11 am EDT.
Probable exposure setting Proportion of cases
Traveller or close contact with a traveller 23%
Community setting 77%

Provincial and territorial reporting

For more information, please refer to provincial or territorial COVID-19 webpages:

Footnotes

Footnote 1

This figure is based on cases for which a detailed case report form has been received by the Public Health Agency of Canada from provincial partners.

Return to footnote 1 referrer

Report a problem or mistake on this page
Please select all that apply:

Thank you for your help!

You will not receive a reply. For enquiries, contact us.

Date modified: