OTTAWA, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) -- Canada's COVID-19 cases surpassed 600,000 as of Sunday afternoon, with the total hitting 601,653, including 15,865 deaths, according to CTV.

Ontario, the most populous province in Canada, reported 2,964 new cases and 25 additional deaths.

There has been an average increase of 2,792 new cases per day over the past week and Ontario set a new single-day record of 3,363 cases on Saturday.

Ontario's cumulative number of cases since the COVID-19 pandemic began reached 190,962.

The Ontario government told parents and guardians in a letter on Sunday that students in public elementary schools in the province would learn remotely for the first week of January, but would return to in-person learning on Jan. 11.

Quebec, another populous province in the country, issued its first COVID-19 update of the new year on Sunday. It showed 7,663 new cases since Dec. 31 and 121 people died of the disease.

The total number of novel coronavirus cases in the province stood at 210,304.