Despite lockdowns and campaigns urging people to stay home, the total number of coronavirus cases confirmed in Canada continued to climb in January, surpassing 730,000 confirmed cases.

And as the number of total cases increased, so too did the number of those hospitalized with roughly 4,700 people being treated in hospitals across the country.

“We’re seeing a pretty significant number of COVID-19 cases in many communities across the country,” Dr. Isaac Bogoch, an infectious diseases specialist and physician at Toronto General Hospital, told Global News.

“The hospital systems are starting to get overwhelmed and … we’re starting to see hospitals shift gears such that they can provide surge capacity, basically limiting some care in other areas so that they can provide care for an influx of patients infected with COVID-19. It’s pretty challenging.”

Health Canada has announced its approval of two vaccines in December after reviewing clinical trial data submitted by Pfizer and BioNTech — the makers of the first vaccine approved for use in Canada — and Moderna.