Saskatchewan’s health-care system is feeling the strain as COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations rise — and the provincial health authority is warning that some non-essential services are at risk.
The province on Thursday reported 299 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the number of active cases to 3,146. According to health officials, there were 108 people in hospital, with 18 in intensive care.
“When our workload increases — particularly when it increases quickly — we are required to redeploy staff and disrupt other services,” Saskatchewan Health Authority president and CEO Scott Livingstone said Thursday.
He also urged people to cut down contacts, saying a single positive case creates hours of work for contact tracers.
“That work can grow exponentially when you factor in the number of contacts,” he said, noting that the tracing system is “under strain.”
Dozens of the cases announced Thursday were from the Saskatoon Correctional Centre.
“Of the cases announced today, 72 are from the Saskatoon Correctional Centre — 68 of these are offenders, and four are staff,” a health authority statement said.
The province said new admissions to the jail, which as of Thursday had seen a total of 85 active cases, are being suspended.
A range of new public health measures are now in effect in Saskatchewan, including a rule that says no more than 30 people are allowed to gather inside public venues. Large retail stores are limited to half-capacity, and no more than four people can sit together at a bar or restaurant.
What’s happening across Canada
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As of 7:30 a.m. ET on Friday, Canada’s COVID-19 case count stood at 353,097, with 60,375 of those considered active cases. A CBC News tally of deaths based on provincial reports, regional health information and CBC’s reporting stood at 11,799.
British Columbia health officials reported 887 new cases of COVID-19 and 13 additional deaths on Thursday, bringing the provincial death toll to 384. Hospitalizations stood at 294, with 64 people in intensive care.
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In Alberta, the number of active COVID-19 cases hit 14,052 on Thursday as the province reported 1,077 new cases. Hospitalizations stood at 383, with 84 people being treated in intensive care.
The numbers came as Dr. Deena Hinshaw, the province’s chief medical officer of health, said she was “profoundly disappointed” over a leak of confidential information from meetings she and her colleagues held to develop recommendations on how to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
The top doctor in Manitoba said roughly 70 per cent of the 266 COVID-19 deaths recorded in the province were recorded in November alone.
“We can’t continue with these daily case counts,” said Dr. Brent Roussin. “We can’t continue to list off this many Manitobans lost daily.”
Manitoba reported 383 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday and said there were 307 people in hospital — including 46 in intensive care.
Ontario reported another 1,478 cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, with 21 additional deaths.
Health Minister Christine Elliott said 572 of those cases were in Peel Region, and 356 were in Toronto — both of which are in the “lockdown” stage of the province’s pandemic protection plan.
The numbers also show that 556 people are currently hospitalized with COVID-19 in the province, with 151 in ICU.
Quebec reported 1,464 new COVID-19 infections and 32 more deaths attributed to the novel coronavirus, bringing the provincial death toll to 6,947.Health officials said hospitalizations had increased to 675, with 90 people in intensive care.
Newfoundland and Labrador reported three new cases on Thursday, while Prince Edward Island had no new cases.
Across the North, there were no new cases of COVID-19 reported in Nunavut or the Northwest Territories on Thursday. Yukon reported three new cases on Thursday, with two in Whitehorse and one in a rural community.
What’s happening around the world
From The Associated Press and Reuters, last updated at 8:50 a.m. ET
People dine while physically distancing during Thanksgiving on Thursday in Los Angeles. (Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images)
As of early Friday morning, there were more than 61.1 million cases of COVID-19 recorded worldwide, with more than 39.1 million of those considered recovered or resolved, according to a coronavirus tracking tool maintained by Johns Hopkins University. The global death toll stood at more than 1.4 million.
In the Americas, Americans marked a muted Thanksgiving Day holiday on Thursday, sometimes seeing family only by video after political leaders discouraged travel or large gatherings.
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, meanwhile, said he will not take a vaccine, while the governor of Sao Paulo state floated the idea of rolling out one without approval from the national health regulator.
In the Asia-Pacific region, South Korea’s daily coronavirus tally is above 500 for a second straight day and the country’s prime minister is urging the public to stay at home this weekend to contain a viral resurgence.
Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said Friday that people should avoid social gatherings and refrain from going out in public this weekend. South Korea has seen a spike in fresh infections since it eased tough physical distancing rules last month.
A medical worker takes samples for a COVID-19 test from a visitor at a testing station in Seoul on Friday. (Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Images)
Authorities reported 569 newly confirmed infections over the past 24 hours, raising the country’s total to 32,887 for the pandemic, with 516 deaths. The 583 new cases reported Thursday was the first time that South Korea’s daily tally had exceeded 500 since March.
In the Middle East, Iran on Friday announced that all government offices will effectively close and operate with only essential staff, further tightening coronavirus measures as the country struggles to contain its most widespread wave of infection yet.
Starting this Saturday — the first day of Iran’s workweek — state TV said “only those employees who need to be present will be at work” in government offices. Managers will make the call on who must still come to work. The report did not specify how long the closures would last, but asked Iranians to postpone any planned visits to government offices.
Pedestrians, mask-clad due to the coronavirus pandemic, walk past closed shops along a street in Iran’s capital Tehran on Nov, 21. The country is clamping down as cases rise. (AFP/Getty Images)
Infections have soared in recent months, and on Friday, Iran again set a record for new virus cases in a single day with 14,051 cases, bringing the total to 922,397.
Iran has also recorded more than 400 daily virus deaths since last Saturday, the same day new tightened restrictions went into effect. Health Ministry spokesperson Sima Sadat Lari said the death toll on Friday reached 47,095, after 406 people died since Thursday.
In Europe, Health Minister Salvador Illa said Spain will be able to vaccinate its 47 million residents against the coronavirus in three waves starting in January and ending “during the months of summer.”
Some 2.5 million people, including residents and personnel working in nursing homes and health workers, will be prioritized for the first batch of vaccines that Spain expects to administer between January and March, Illa said Friday.
He said that experts are analyzing what will be the order for vaccinating other groups in the March to June vaccination campaign and for the last batch, over the summer, depending on their risk of contagion and the availability of vaccine doses. Spain has closed contracts to purchase 140 million doses that could cover 80 million people.
In Africa, mass vaccination against COVID-19 is unlikely to start until midway through next year and keeping vaccines cold could be a big challenge, the continent’s disease control group said on Thursday.
EDMONTON – Jake Allen made 31 saves for his second shutout of the season and 26th of his career as the New Jersey Devils closed out their Western Canadian road trip with a 3-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Monday.
Jesper Bratt had a goal and an assist and Stefan Noesen and Timo Meier also scored for the Devils (8-5-2) who have won three of their last four on the heels on a four-game losing skid.
The Oilers (6-6-1) had their modest two-game winning streak snapped.
Calvin Pickard made 13 stops between the pipes for Edmonton.
TAKEAWAYS
Devils: In addition to his goal, Bratt picked up his 12th assist of the young season to give him nine points in his last eight games and now 15 points overall. Nico Hischier remains in the team lead, picking up an assist of his own to give him 16 points for the campaign. He has a point in all but four games this season.
Oilers: Forward Leon Draisaitl was held pointless after recording six points in his previous two games and nine points in his previous four. Draisaitl usually has strong showings against the Devils, coming into the contest with an eight-game point streak against New Jersey and 11 goals in 17 games.
KEY MOMENT
New Jersey took a 2-0 lead on the power play with 3:26 remaining in the second period as Hischier made a nice feed into the slot to Bratt, who wired his third of the season past Pickard.
KEY RETURN?
Oilers star forward and captain Connor McDavid took part in the optional morning skate for the Oilers, leading to hopes that he may be back sooner rather than later. McDavid has been expected to be out for two to three weeks with an ankle injury suffered during the first shift of last Monday’s loss in Columbus.
OILERS DEAL FOR D-MAN
The Oilers have acquired defenceman Ronnie Attard from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for defenceman Ben Gleason.
The 6-foot-3 Attard has spent the past three season in the Flyers organization seeing action in 29 career games. The 25-year-old right-shot defender and Western Michigan University grad was originally selected by Philadelphia in the third round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. Attard will report to the Oilers’ AHL affiliate in Bakersfield.
UP NEXT
Devils: Host the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday.
Oilers: Host the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2024.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes threw for 291 yards and three touchdowns, and Kareem Hunt pounded into the end zone from two yards out in overtime to give the unbeaten Kansas City Chiefs a 30-24 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night.
DeAndre Hopkins had two touchdown receptions for the Chiefs (8-0), who drove through the rain for two fourth-quarter scores to take a 24-17 lead with 4:17 left. But then Kansas City watched as Baker Mayfield led the Bucs the other way in the final minute, hitting Ryan Miller in the end zone with 27 seconds to go in regulation time.
Tampa Bay (4-5) elected to kick the extra point and force overtime, rather than go for a two-point conversion and the win. And it cost the Buccaneers when Mayfield called tails and the coin flip was heads. Mahomes and the Chiefs took the ball, he was 5-for-5 passing on their drive in overtime, and Hunt finished his 106-yard rushing day with the deciding TD plunge.
Travis Kelce had 14 catches for 100 yards with girlfriend Taylor Swift watching from a suite, and Hopkins finished with eight catches for 86 yards as the Chiefs ran their winning streak to 14 dating to last season. They became the sixth Super Bowl champion to start 8-0 the following season.
Mayfield finished with 200 yards and two TDs passing for the Bucs, who have lost four of their last five.
It was a memorable first half for two players who had been waiting to play in Arrowhead Stadium.
The Bucs’ Rachaad White grew up about 10 minutes away in a tough part of Kansas City, but his family could never afford a ticket for him to see a game. He wound up on a circuitous path through Division II Nebraska-Kearney and a California junior college to Arizona State, where he eventually became of a third-round pick of Tampa Bay in the 2022 draft.
Two year later, White finally got into Arrowhead — and the end zone. He punctuated his seven-yard scoring run in the second quarter, which gave the Bucs a 7-3 lead, by nearly tossing the football into the second deck.
Then it was Hopkins’ turn in his first home game since arriving in Kansas City from a trade with the Titans.
The three-time All-Pro, who already had caught four passes, reeled in a third-down heave from Mahomes amid triple coverage for a 35-yard gain inside the Tampa Bay five-yard line. Three plays later, Mahomes found him in the back of the end zone, and Hopkins celebrated his first TD with the Chiefs with a dance from “Remember the Titans.”
Tampa Bay tried to seize control with consecutive scoring drives to start the second half. The first ended with a TD pass to Cade Otton, the latest tight end to shred the Chiefs, and Chase McLaughlin’s 47-yard field goal gave the Bucs a 17-10 lead.
The Chiefs answered in the fourth quarter. Mahomes marched them through the rain 70 yards for a tying touchdown pass, which he delivered to Samaje Perine while landing awkwardly and tweaking his left ankle, and then threw a laser to Hopkins on third-and-goal from the Buccaneers’ five-yard line to give Kansas City the lead.
Tampa Bay promptly went three-and-out, but its defence got the ball right back, and this time Mayfield calmly led his team down field. His capped the drive with a touchdown throw to Miller — his first career TD catch — with 27 seconds to go, and Tampa Bay elected to play for overtime.
UP NEXT
Buccaneers: Host the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Darcy Kuemper made 16 saves for his first shutout of the season and 32nd overall, helping the Los Angeles Kings beat the Nashville Predators 3-0 on Monday night.
Adrian Kempe had a goal and an assist and Anze Kopitar and Kevin Fiala also scored. The Kings have won two of their last three.
Juuse Saros made 24 saves for the Predators. They are 1-2-1 in their last four.
Kopitar opened the scoring with 6:36 remaining in the opening period. Saros denied the Kings captain’s first shot, but Kopitar collected the rebound below the goal line and banked it off the netminder’s skate.
Fiala, a former Predator, made it 2-0 35 seconds into the third.
The Kings held Nashville to just three third-period shots on goal, the first coming with 3:55 remaining and Saros pulled for an extra attacker.
Elsewhere in the NHL on Monday:
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DEVILS 3 OILERS 0
EDMONTON, Alta. (AP) — Jake Allen made 31 saves for his second shutout of the season and 26th of his NHL career, helping the New Jersey Devils close their western Canadian road trip with a 3-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers.
Jesper Bratt had a goal and an assist and Stefan Noesen and Timo Meier also scored. The Devils improved to 8-5-2. They have won three of their last four after a four-game skid.
Calvin Pickard made 13 saves for Edmonton. The Oilers had won two straight.
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