It's been nearly six months since the first case of the 2019 novel coronavirus was confirmed on Canadian soil and as of Thursday, the nation has officially surpassed 100,000 confirmed cases of the infectious disease so far.

The national count was hovering just under the 100,000 mark on June 17 — sitting at 99,853 — but with an updated tally coming out of Ontario this morning, we have now seen at least 100,026 COVID-19 patients from coast to coast.

Canada becomes the 18th country in the world to report more than 100,000 cases of COVID-19.

— David Waldman-1, of Yorktown LLC™ (@KagroX) June 18, 2020

Though breaking this threshold may feel like cause for concern, it is worth noting that approximately 62 per cent of patients nationwide have already recovered, and with a mortality rate of around 8.3 per cent, this leaves less than 30 per cent of active infections.

In certain provinces, these numbers are even more promising — such as in Ontario, where more than 81 per cent of cases are now considered resolved, and deaths from the virus have been proportionally lower, at 7.8 per cent.

Manitoba, Newfoundland & Labrador, P.E.I., Nova Scotia, the Yukon, and Northwest Territories have seen fewer than 350 cases each, while Nunavut has had none at all. And, new cases have fallen down to or close to zero in a number of locales.

Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam has updated the status of #COVID19 in #Canada. Data as of 7:00 p.m. yesterday.

Cases: 99,853 (+386)
Deaths: 8,254 (+41)
Resolved: 62,017 (+574)

Dr. Tam: "As we speak we have now exceeded 100,000 cases of COVID-19 in Canada."

— YourTV Windsor (@yourtvwindsor) June 18, 2020

Still, many are quick to point out that the official stats for the country are likely far lower than the actual number of cases we've seen (due to factors like limited testing, asymptomatic or only mildly symptomatic patients, and more).

But this fact can be argued as a good thing because it means that the mortality and hospitalization rates for COVID-19 in Canada have actually been lower than we may think and the cases are perhaps less severe.

Canada is also faring far better than countries like the U.S. and the U.K., which have had upwards of 2.2 million and 300,000 confirmed cases, respectively.

america has 1/4th as many new cases of covid *yesterday* as Canada has had for the entirety of the pandemic.

your population is only 10 times larger guys

— Erika Chappell - Flying Circus is out! 🏳️‍⚧️ (@open_sketchbook) June 18, 2020

As things continue to gradually reopen across the country, it is important to remember to heed the advice of health officials, including washing hands, social distancing and wearing masks in public spaces.

But, it is also worth keeping in mind that though the health crisis has been an absolute tragedy and 100,000 is quite a scary number to come to terms with, recovery rates in Canada are growing. Testing rates are increasing and we are certainly far better off than we were just a few months ago.