OTTAWA — The latest news on COVID-19 developments in Canada (all times eastern):
3:50 p.m.
Prince Edward Island is reporting one new case of COVID-19 today.
Health officials say the case involves a man in his 60s who is a close contact of a previously reported infection.
They say the man initially tested negative but was tested again after developing symptoms.
P.E.I. has 23 active reported cases of COVID-19.
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3:25 p.m.
Health officials in Saskatchewan say there are another 169 new cases of COVID-19 and two more deaths.
There are 146 people in hospital, with 20 people in intensive care.
The province says its seven-day average of new daily cases sits at 148.
National data shows Saskatchewan leads the country with the highest rate of active cases per capita.
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3:15 p.m.
Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe says his province will be delaying the second dose of vaccines to speed up immunizations against COVID-19.
He says people will get their second shot four months after the first, which falls in line with a recommendation from Canada’s national immunization committee.
Saskatchewan health officials are expected to speak at a COVID-19 briefing this afternoon.
Earlier in the week, Moe said delaying the second doses for up to four months would mean every adult in the province could be immunized at least once by June.
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2:35 p.m.
New Brunswick is reporting five new cases of COVID-19 today.
Health officials say three new cases are in the Edmundston region, and that the Moncton and Miramichi regions each have one new case.
There are 36 active known infections in the province and three patients are hospitalized with the disease, including two in intensive care.
A recently reported presumptive case of a variant in the Miramichi region has been confirmed by Winnipeg’s National Microbiology Laboratory as the B.1.1.7 mutation.
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1:45 p.m.
Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines will be distributed in some Ontario pharmacies starting next week.
Health Minister Christine Elliott says most doses of that vaccine will go to pharmacies in a pilot project.
The Ontario Pharmacists Association’s CEO says the pilot will begin at 380 sites in Toronto, Kingston and Windsor-Essex.
Ontario has said it will prioritize people between the ages of 60 and 64 for the AstraZeneca doses.
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1:35 p.m.
Manitoba is reporting 51 news COVID-19 cases and two deaths.
Northern regions continue to be hardest hit.
High case numbers in Mathias Colomb Cree Nation have prompted the chief and council to ban public gatherings and require people to stay home except for shopping, medical care and work in essential services.
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1:30 p.m.
Alberta’s Opposition NDP is calling for an immediate public inquiry into the COVID-19 outbreak at the Olymel pork processing plant in Red Deer.
It also wants today’s planned reopening of the plant put on hold.
The plant was shut down in mid-February, after an outbreak that has caused three deaths and infected more than 500 employees.
The company says Alberta Health has given it a green light to start a gradual reopening with slaughter operations today.
Cutting room operations can resume tomorrow.
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1 p.m.
Newfoundland and Labrador is reporting five new COVID-19 cases today.
Health officials say four new cases are in the eastern health region, which includes St. John’s, involving people between the ages of 40 and 69. Three involve close contacts of prior cases while the fourth is related to domestic travel.
The fifth case is located in the western health region, involves a person between the ages of 20 and 39 and is related to international travel.
Eight people are in hospital with the disease, including two in intensive care.
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12:45 p.m.
Nunavut is reporting 10 new cases of COVID-19 today.
All the new cases are in Arviat, a community of about 2,800 and the only place in Nunavut with active cases.
Arviat has been under a strict lockdown since November, with all schools and non-essential businesses closed.
The community’s hamlet council also ordered a nightly curfew from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. to curb the spread.
Chief public health officer Dr. Michael Patterson says contact tracing is ongoing in the community.
There are 14 active cases of COVID-19 in Nunavut, all in Arviat.
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12:30 p.m.
Health Canada says a decision on the Johnson & Johnson vaccine will be announced in the “next few days.”
The word came today from Dr. Marc Berthiaume, director of the regulator’s bureau of medical sciences.
Once approved, the J&J product would become the fourth vaccine available for use in Canada. It was approved last weekend in the United States.
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12:15 p.m.
Canada’s deputy chief public health officer Dr. Howard Njoo says nearly 400,000 people were vaccinated in Canada in the last seven days.
He says that’s the most in a single week since immunizations began on Dec. 14.
Njoo says more than two million doses have been administered now, with about four per cent of Canadians getting one dose and almost 1.5 per cent now vaccinated with two doses.
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12:05 p.m.
Nova Scotia is lifting some of the restrictions in place in Halifax and surrounding communities as COVID-19 cases decline in the region.
Officials say rules that came into effect on Feb. 27 limiting restaurant hours, prohibiting sports events and discouraging non-essential travel in and out of the area will end on Friday at 8 a.m.
Rules for residents of long-term care homes remain unchanged, but those living in care facilities may only have visits from their two designated caregivers.
Officials say the restrictions for long-term care residents will remain in place in the Halifax Regional Municipality and neighbouring areas until March 27.
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11:15 a.m.
Quebec is reporting 707 new cases of COVID-19 and 20 more deaths attributed to the novel coronavirus, including four in the past 24 hours.
Health officials say hospitalizations rose by eight, to 626, and 115 people were in intensive care, a drop of five.
The province says it administered 16,619 doses of vaccine yesterday, for a total of 490,504.
Quebec has reported a total of 290,377 COVID-19 infections and 10,445 deaths linked to the virus.
It has 7,379 active reported cases.
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10:50 a.m.
Nova Scotia is reporting three new cases of COVID-19.
Health officials say all three cases were identified in the health region that includes Halifax.
Two cases involve contacts of previously reported infections while the third is under investigation.
Nova Scotia has 29 active reported cases of COVID-19.
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10:40 a.m.
Ontario is reporting 994 new cases of COVID-19.
Health Minister Christine Elliott says that 298 of those new cases are in Toronto, 171 are in Peel and 64 are in York Region.
There were 10 more deaths in Ontario since the last daily update and more than 30,000 doses of a COVID-19 vaccine administered.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 4, 2021.
EDMONTON – RCMP say a second suspect has been arrested in the killing of an Alberta county worker.
Mounties say 28-year-old Elijah Strawberry was taken into custody Friday at a house on O’Chiese First Nation.
Colin Hough, a worker with Rocky View County, was shot and killed while on the job on a rural road east of Calgary on Aug. 6.
Another man who worked for Fortis Alberta was shot and wounded, and RCMP said the suspects fled in a Rocky View County work truck.
Police later arrested Arthur Wayne Penner, 35, and charged him with first-degree murder and attempted murder, and a warrant was issued for Strawberry’s arrest.
RCMP also said there was a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Strawberry, describing him as armed and dangerous.
Chief Supt. Roberta McKale, told a news conference in Edmonton that officers had received tips and information over the last few weeks.
“I don’t know of many members that when were stopped, fuelling up our vehicles, we weren’t keeping an eye out, looking for him,” she said.
But officers had been investigating other cases when they found Strawberry.
“Our investigators were in O’Chiese First Nation at a residence on another matter and the major crimes unit was there working another file and ended up locating him hiding in the residence,” McKale said.
While an investigation is still underway, RCMP say they’re confident both suspects in the case are in police custody.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
RICHMOND, B.C. – The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team says the 26-year-old son of a man found dead on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast has been charged with his murder.
Police say 58-year-old Henry Doyle was found badly injured on a forest service road in Egmont last September and died of his injuries.
The homicide team took over when the BC Coroners Service said the man’s death was suspicious.
It says in a statement that the BC Prosecution Service has approved one count of first-degree murder against the man’s son, Jackson Doyle.
Police say the accused will remain in custody until at least his next court appearance.
The homicide team says investigators remained committed to solving the case with the help of the community of Egmont, the RCMP on the Sunshine Coast and in Richmond, and the Vancouver Police Department.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
VANCOUVER – Mediated talks between the union representing HandyDART workers in Metro Vancouver and its employer, Transdev, have broken off without an agreement following 15 hours of talks.
Joe McCann, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724, says they stayed at the bargaining table with help from a mediator until 2 a.m. Friday and made “some progress.”
However, he says the union negotiators didn’t get an offer that they could recommend to the membership.
McCann says that in some ways they are close to an agreement, but in other areas they are “miles apart.”
About 600 employees of the door-to-door transit service for people who can’t navigate the conventional transit system have been on strike since last week, pausing service for all but essential medical trips.
McCann asks HandyDART users to be “patient,” since they are trying to get not only a fair contract for workers but also a better service for customers.
He says it’s unclear when the talks will resume, but he hopes next week at the latest.
The employer, Transdev, didn’t reply to an interview request before publication.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
