Ottawa, Jan 17 (IANS): Canada's Covid-19 cases surpassed 700,000 on Saturday, with the total hitting 700,988, including 17,847 deaths, according to CTV.

Canada reported 22 cases of the B.1.1.17 virus variant found in Britain and one case of the 501Y.V2 virus variant confirmed in South Africa as of January 13, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada, Xinhua news agency reported.

Ontario reported 3,056 new cases of Covid-19 on Saturday morning, as well as 51 more deaths related to the disease.

The province's total number of cases came to 234,364 and the total number of fatalities rose to 5,340 while the number of recovered patients was 200,406.

Ontario's seven-day rolling average now stands at 3,218, compared to 3,341 a week ago.

The Ontario government announced Saturday morning that it is extending nearly all emergency orders under the Reopening Ontario Act (ROA) for an additional 30 days, saying the extension of most orders under the act will help to "preserve our health care capacity and protect Ontarians until everyone can be vaccinated."

The orders under the ROA, which were set to expire on January 20, have been extended until February 19.

Saturday morning, Quebec reported 2,225 new cases and 67 more deaths. The province's Covid-19 cases came to 240,970 and the deaths number was 9,005 while the total number of recovery was 210,364.

Canada has begun its largest mass vaccination program in history with Covid-19 inoculations getting underway.

The country has secured more than 400 million vaccine doses from multiple manufacturers, including Pfizer and Moderna, the only two Covid-19 vaccines currently approved in Canada.