The new cases account for just over three per cent of the 92,328 tests completed over the past day, according to provincial health data.
Canada has now seen a total of 228,301 confirmed cases of COVID-19 to date, of which 191,208 have recovered from the disease. Over 11.5 million tests have been completed.
Forty-two new deaths were also reported Thursday, bringing the national death toll to 10,074. Over a third of those deaths were historical and did not occur over the past 24 hours.
Out of the 17,043 active cases across the country right now, 1,168 are in hospital — 11 more than Wednesday’s total.
Ontario and Quebec once again had the highest provincial totals of new cases Thursday, although Ontario said its latest projections show the growth of the virus across the province is slowing.
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“Most indicators are showing a slowing growth,” said Dr. Adalsteinn Brown, who is advising the province on its response to the pandemic. “But cases are continuing to climb.”
0:42 Coronavirus: Data shows Ontario’s COVID-19 cases growing slowly
Coronavirus: Data shows Ontario’s COVID-19 cases growing slowly
Ontario reported 934 new cases and 10 more deaths, bringing the province’s totals to 73,819 confirmed infections and 3,118 deaths. More than 63,000 patients have recovered, while 322 are currently in hospital.
In Quebec, 1,030 more cases were reported along with 25 deaths. Eight of those deaths occurred over the past 24 hours, officials said, while the rest date back before Tuesday.
The province remains the hardest hit by the pandemic, with 103,844 cases and 6,214 deaths to date. Of the remaining cases, 88,442 have recovered while 509 have been hospitalized.
Another daily record was set in Manitoba with 193 new cases, bringing its total to 4,894 infections. The province’s death toll rose to 62 after four more deaths were also reported, while a total of 2,423 patients have recovered. Nearly 100 active cases are in hospital.
Saskatchewan also hit a new record for daily infections with 82, although no new deaths were reported. Officials have now confirmed 2,990 cases to date, along with 25 deaths and 2,258 recoveries. Twenty people are now in hospital.
In Alberta, 477 new cases were announced along with five more deaths, bringing its totals to 27,042 infections and 318 fatalities. The province says 130 patients are currently in hospital, though another 21,803 cases have recovered.
British Columbia saw 230 lab-confirmed cases and four additional “epidemiologically linked” cases that have not been confirmed through laboratory testing.
One additional death was also announced, a senior who had attended a small birthday party with less than 10 people who all became infected.
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4:13 B.C. health officials report 234 new cases of COVID-19, briefing held in Surrey
B.C. health officials report 234 new cases of COVID-19, briefing held in Surrey
Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said the case was a representation of the challenge the province is currently facing, as the surge in cases has been linked to social gatherings.
“It reminds us that this virus can’t tell the difference, and even a small gathering when this virus is circulating can be dangerous,” she said.
B.C. has seen a total of 13,868 confirmed cases and 241 additional “epi-linked” cases to date, of whom 262 have now died and 11,448 more have recovered. Of the province’s record-high 2,344 active cases, 86 are in hospital.
New Brunswick was the only Atlantic province to report any cases Thursday, confirming four new infections. The province’s total cases now stands at 341, of whom six have died and 294 have recovered. Four of the 41 active cases in New Brunswick are in hospital.
Nova Scotia has seen 1,102 cases and 65 deaths to date, while Newfoundland and Labrador’s total sits at 291 cases and four deaths. Each of the two provinces has four active cases.
Prince Edward Island’s last update on Tuesday said only one of the province’s 64 cases to date is active, while the rest have recovered.
In the territories, Yukon reported a new case Thursday, taking its total to 23 cases to date. Of those, 17 have recovered, and none have died.
The Northwest Territories has seen 10 cases so far, eight of whom have recovered. Nunavut remains free of local confirmed cases.
3:55 Coronavirus: Singh calls on Ottawa to address ‘deplorable’ conditions at Rivera long-term care homes
Coronavirus: Singh calls on Ottawa to address ‘deplorable’ conditions at Rivera long-term care homes
The past two days has seen both the United States and the world at large shatter previous records for daily cases, as a second wave of the pandemic continues to overwhelm many countries — particularly in Europe.
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Over 530,000 new cases globally were reported on Wednesday alone, according to Johns Hopkins University, which tracks public health data around the world.
And on Thursday, the COVID Tracking Project said the U.S. hit a new record of over 88,000 new cases, while over 1,000 people died in 24 hours.
The U.S. remains the most infected country in terms of both confirmed cases, at over 8.94 million, and deaths, around 228,000.
The cases account for roughly 20 per cent of the nearly 44.9 million cases confirmed globally so far. The worldwide death toll, meanwhile, is nearly 1.18 million.
VANCOUVER – Contract negotiations resume today in Vancouver in a labour dispute that has paralyzed container cargo shipping at British Columbia’s ports since Monday.
The BC Maritime Employers Association and International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 are scheduled to meet for the next three days in mediated talks to try to break a deadlock in negotiations.
The union, which represents more than 700 longshore supervisors at ports, including Vancouver, Prince Rupert and Nanaimo, has been without a contract since March last year.
The latest talks come after employers locked out workers in response to what it said was “strike activity” by union members.
The start of the lockout was then followed by several days of no engagement between the two parties, prompting federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon to speak with leaders on both sides, asking them to restart talks.
MacKinnon had said that the talks were “progressing at an insufficient pace, indicating a concerning absence of urgency from the parties involved” — a sentiment echoed by several business groups across Canada.
In a joint letter, more than 100 organizations, including the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Business Council of Canada and associations representing industries from automotive and fertilizer to retail and mining, urged the government to do whatever it takes to end the work stoppage.
“While we acknowledge efforts to continue with mediation, parties have not been able to come to a negotiated agreement,” the letter says. “So, the federal government must take decisive action, using every tool at its disposal to resolve this dispute and limit the damage caused by this disruption.
“We simply cannot afford to once again put Canadian businesses at risk, which in turn puts Canadian livelihoods at risk.”
In the meantime, the union says it has filed a complaint to the Canada Industrial Relations Board against the employers, alleging the association threatened to pull existing conditions out of the last contract in direct contact with its members.
“The BCMEA is trying to undermine the union by attempting to turn members against its democratically elected leadership and bargaining committee — despite the fact that the BCMEA knows full well we received a 96 per cent mandate to take job action if needed,” union president Frank Morena said in a statement.
The employers have responded by calling the complaint “another meritless claim,” adding the final offer to the union that includes a 19.2 per cent wage increase over a four-year term remains on the table.
“The final offer has been on the table for over a week and represents a fair and balanced proposal for employees, and if accepted would end this dispute,” the employers’ statement says. “The offer does not require any concessions from the union.”
The union says the offer does not address the key issue of staffing requirement at the terminals as the port introduces more automation to cargo loading and unloading, which could potentially require fewer workers to operate than older systems.
The Port of Vancouver is the largest in Canada and has seen a number of labour disruptions, including two instances involving the rail and grain storage sectors earlier this year.
A 13-day strike by another group of workers at the port last year resulted in the disruption of a significant amount of shipping and trade.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
The Royal Canadian Legion says a new partnership with e-commerce giant Amazon is helping boost its veterans’ fund, and will hopefully expand its donor base in the digital world.
Since the Oct. 25 launch of its Amazon.ca storefront, the legion says it has received nearly 10,000 orders for poppies.
Online shoppers can order lapel poppies on Amazon in exchange for donations or buy items such as “We Remember” lawn signs, Remembrance Day pins and other accessories, with all proceeds going to the legion’s Poppy Trust Fund for Canadian veterans and their families.
Nujma Bond, the legion’s national spokesperson, said the organization sees this move as keeping up with modern purchasing habits.
“As the world around us evolves we have been looking at different ways to distribute poppies and to make it easier for people to access them,” she said in an interview.
“This is definitely a way to reach a wider number of Canadians of all ages. And certainly younger Canadians are much more active on the web, on social media in general, so we’re also engaging in that way.”
Al Plume, a member of a legion branch in Trenton, Ont., said the online store can also help with outreach to veterans who are far from home.
“For veterans that are overseas and are away, (or) can’t get to a store they can order them online, it’s Amazon.” Plume said.
Plume spent 35 years in the military with the Royal Engineers, and retired eight years ago. He said making sure veterans are looked after is his passion.
“I’ve seen the struggles that our veterans have had with Veterans Affairs … and that’s why I got involved, with making sure that the people get to them and help the veterans with their paperwork.”
But the message about the Amazon storefront didn’t appear to reach all of the legion’s locations, with volunteers at Branch 179 on Vancouver’s Commercial Drive saying they hadn’t heard about the online push.
Holly Paddon, the branch’s poppy campaign co-ordinator and bartender, said the Amazon partnership never came up in meetings with other legion volunteers and officials.
“I work at the legion, I work with the Vancouver poppy office and I go to the meetings for the Vancouver poppy campaign — which includes all the legions in Vancouver — and not once has this been mentioned,” she said.
Paddon said the initiative is a great idea, but she would like to have known more about it.
The legion also sells a larger collection of items at poppystore.ca.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
