Canada's Justin Trudeau warns of 'very serious' third wave of coronavirus

As the country registered more than one million coronavirus cases since the pandemic began last year, with a death tally of nearly 23,000, Canada’s prime minister has warned against a "very serious" third wave of Covid-19.

"Around the world, countries are facing a very serious third wave of this pandemic," he said. "And right now, so is Canada."

Following the warning of a surge in coronavirus cases, Canada has decided to cancel all in-person classes at elementary and secondary schools from Wednesday.

Also read | Canada crosses 1 million cases amid third wave of coronavirus

The decision to close schools and shift to virtual classes has been taken after it was reported that the younger population was the most affected in the country during the third wave.

"Schools should be the first places in our community to open, and the last to close," Toronto Public Health said in a statement. "Unfortunately, current circumstances require that difficult decisions must be taken locally to protect all those in our school communities."

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Canada has nearly 247,000 students in the school district who will be shifting to virtual classes till April 18, with the possibility of extending the study from home orders.

Canada has averaged nearly 5,200 new coronavirus cases per day over the past week and has recorded a total of more than a million positive tests and 23,000 deaths.

Meanwhile, Ontario Premier Doug Ford has warned people against going out for entertainment purposes. He expressed frustration upon seeing people in Toronto "going into the mall, doing their little wander ‘round, and coming out with no bags. That tells me they were just out for a daily jaunt. You can’t do that."