Health officials in Canada reported 6,292 new coronavirus infections on Wednesday, bringing the country’s total case count to 434,967.
Another 116 people have also died after testing positive for COVID-19, authorities said.
Since the virus was first detected, it has claimed 12,983 lives in Canada.
However, 350,011 people have recovered after contracting the respiratory illness, while 15,792,288 tests have been administered.
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3:49 Health Canada approves Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine
Health Canada approves Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine
On Wednesday, there were also a total of 3,121 people hospitalized due to COVID-19, surpassing the number of hospitalizations during the first wave of the pandemic.
The previous record was set in early May, when 3,056 people were in hospital.
The new cases come as the federal government announced Health Canada has approved a COVID-19 vaccine from American pharmaceutical company Pfizer.
“The availability of a safe and effective vaccine will reduce the spread and severity of COVID-19 disease and reduce its social and economic consequences,” Health Canada said on Wednesday, adding the data confirms the vaccine is roughly 95 per cent effective, and was “well tolerated” with no serious safety concerns.
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1:33 Health Canada approves use of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine
Health Canada approves use of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine
Maj.-Gen. Dany Fortin, who is leading Canada’s vaccine distribution plans, said he expects Pfizer will ship the vaccines from Belgium on Friday and the doses could begin arriving on Monday or Tuesday.
Update on Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine that was just approved by Health Canada: 30,000 doses are expected to arrive as early as Monday at the 14 points of shipment across the country. Up to 249,000 doses are coming this month, with millions more in the new year.
“Up to 249,000 doses are coming this month, with millions more in the new year,” he wrote in a tweet Wednesday afternoon.
New cases in the provinces
In Ontario, 1,890 new cases of the virus were detected on Wednesday, and health officials said 28 more people had died after testing positive for COVID-19.
The new infections bring the province’s total case load and death toll to 132,800 and 3,836 respectively.
Meanwhile, in Quebec, 1,728 new infections and 36 more fatalities were reported.
So far, the province has seen 156,468 cases of COVID-19, along with 7,349 deaths.
Saskatchewan saw 302 new cases and five more fatalities on Wednesday, bringing the total number of infections to 10,899 and pushing the death toll to 71.
Health officials in Manitoba reported 279 new infections and said 18 more people had died.
To date, 19,655 people have contracted the virus in the province, and 438 have died.
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Eight new cases of COVID-19 were detected in Atlantic Canada on Wednesday.
Nova Scotia reported six new cases of the respiratory illness, but said no new deaths had occurred.
The province has now seen 1,389 infections and 65 fatalities.
0:53 Coronavirus: Over 100 participants to conduct ‘rehearsal of concept’ regarding vaccine distribution
Coronavirus: Over 100 participants to conduct ‘rehearsal of concept’ regarding vaccine distribution
Newfoundland and Labrador and New Brunswick each saw one new infection, bringing the provincial case counts to 353 and 542 respectively.
Meanwhile, Prince Edward Island did not add any new cases.
Seventy-one of the island’s 84 confirmed cases are considered to be recovered.
None of the maritime provinces reported any new deaths associated with the virus on Wednesday.
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In western Canada, 2,075 new cases were reported on Wednesday.
Health authorities in Alberta said 1,460 new cases were detected, and 13 more people have died.
The province has seen 73,488 COVID-19 infections and 653 deaths, to date.
In British Columbia, 619 new cases were reported, four of which are epidemiologically-linked, meaning they have not yet been confirmed by a laboratory.
The new infections bring the province’s total case count to 38,974.
Provincial health authorities said 16 more people have died after contracting the virus.
A total of 559 have now died in B.C. after testing positive for COVID-19.
New cases in the territories
Nine new infections were reported in Nunavut, bringing the territory’s total case load to 229.
Neither the Yukon or the Northwest Territories saw a new case of the novel coronavirus on Wednesday.
Demands for government intervention in Air Canada labour talks could negatively affect airline competition in Canada, the CEO of travel company Transat AT Inc. said.
“The extension of such an extraordinary intervention to Air Canada would be an undeniable competitive advantage to the detriment of other Canadian airlines,” Annick Guérard told analysts on an earnings conference call on Thursday.
“The time and urgency is now. It is time to restore healthy competition in Canada,” she added.
Air Canada has asked the federal government to be ready to intervene and request arbitration as early as this weekend to avoid disruptions.
Comments on the potential Air Canada pilot strike or lock out came as Transat reported third-quarter financial results.
Guérard recalled Transat’s labour negotiations with its flight attendants earlier this year, which the company said it handled without asking for government intervention.
The airline’s 2,100 flight attendants voted 99 per cent in favour of a strike mandate and twice rejected tentative deals before approving a new collective agreement in late February.
As the collective agreement for Air Transat pilots ends in June next year, Guérard anticipates similar pressure to increase overall wages as seen in Air Canada’s negotiations, but reckons it will come out “as a win, win, win deal.”
“The pilots are preparing on their side, we are preparing on our side and we’re confident that we’re going to come up with a reasonable deal,” she told analysts when asked about the upcoming negotiations.
The parent company of Air Transat reported it lost $39.9 million or $1.03 per diluted share in its quarter ended July 31. The result compared with a profit of $57.3 million or $1.49 per diluted share a year earlier.
Revenue totalled $736.2 million, down from $746.3 million in the same quarter last year.
On an adjusted basis, Transat says it lost $1.10 per share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of $1.10 per share a year earlier.
It attributed reduced revenues to lower airline unit revenues, competition, industry-wide overcapacity and economic uncertainty.
Air Transat is also among the airlines facing challenges related to the recall of Pratt & Whitney turbofan jet engines for inspection and repair.
The recall has so far grounded six aircraft, Guérard said on the call.
“We have agreed to financial compensation for grounded aircraft during the 2023-2024 period,” she said. “Alongside this financial compensation, Pratt & Whitney will provide us with two additional spare engines, which we intend to monetize through a sell and lease back transaction.”
Looking ahead, the CEO said she expects consumer demand to remain somewhat uncertain amid high interest rates.
“We are currently seeing ongoing pricing pressure extending into the winter season,” she added. Air Transat is not planning on adding additional aircraft next year but anticipates stability.
“(2025) for us will be much more stable than 2024 in terms of fleet movements and operation, and this will definitely have a positive effect on cost and customer satisfaction as well,” the CEO told analysts.
“We are more and more moving away from all the disruption that we had to go through early in 2024,” she added.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
