COVID-19 cases in Canada breached the one million mark as a third wave ripples across the country.

The country had recorded 1,001,650 cases since the start of the pandemic as of Saturday afternoon, according to the Canadian Press. Canada, like other nations, is grappling with the spread of new variants that are sending more people to hospital and resulting in stricter lockdown measures.

Ontario began a four-week, province-wide lockdown on Saturday at 12:01 a.m. Toronto time -- lowering capacity for stores and shutting down hair salons, indoor restaurant dining, gyms and most sporting activities and events.

Quebec is closing schools and non-essential stores for 10 days in two regions, while British Columbia this week prohibited indoor dining and gyms from opening until April 19. So far, about 14 per cent of Canada’s population has received at least one dose of vaccine versus 31 per cent in the U.S., according to Bloomberg’s vaccine tracker.