The new cases come as the federal government began halting all incoming flights from the United Kingdom for 72 hours in a bid to quell the spread of a potentially more transmissible variant of the virus, which has been running rampant in Britain.
A statement from Health Canada Sunday evening said the strain has not yet been identified in the country, but added that work continues to determine whether it is present.
However, while the new variant may be more transmissible, the World Health Organization said vaccines which were recently approved to combat the virus should still be effective.
Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO’s technical lead for COVID-19, also said the mutated variant may be more transmissible, but said there is no evidence it would increase the “severity associated with this disease.”
“The U.K. has informed us that they don’t believe that there’s an impact on the vaccine. So that’s good news,” she said during a press conference Monday.
In a series of tweets on Monday afternoon, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau urged Canadians to “remain vigilant” as the holidays approach.
“We’re not out of the woods yet,” he said. “COVID-19 cases are rising across the country.”
“We need to keep doing the things we know work — things like wearing your mask, washing your hands, and avoiding gatherings,” he wrote.”
As of Monday, 3,544 people were in hospital across the country after contracting the virus, while 421,743 people have recovered after falling ill.
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In Ontario, 2,123 new cases were reported on Monday, and health officials said another 17 people have died after contracting COVID-19.
To date, the province has seen 158,053 confirmed cases of the virus and 4,167 fatalities.
The new cases come as Ontario premier Doug Ford announced a “provincewide shutdown” will begin on Boxing Day in an effort to limit the spread of the virus.
Meanwhile, in Quebec, 2,108 new cases were detected, bringing the provincial case load to 179,093.
Health authorities also said 30 more people have died after testing positive for the coronavirus, pushing the total death toll to 7,766.
Three hundred and seventy two new cases of the novel coronavirus were detected between Manitoba and Saskatchewan on Monday.
Saskatchewan added 206 new cases for a total of 13,761, while Manitoba saw 166 new infections, pushing the provincial case load to 23,025.
Four new deaths were reported in Saskatchewan, pushing the death toll to 122, while three new deaths in Manitoba bring the provincial fatalities to 572.
New Brunswick saw four new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total case load to 578. However, health authorities said the provincial death toll remained at eight.
Nova Scotia reported two new cases COVID-19, pushing the total number of infections to 1,447.
However, the province did not see any new fatalities, meaning the death toll remained at 65.
Newfoundland and Labrador did not report any new infections or fatalities on Monday.
To date the province has seen 382 cases and four deaths.
Prince Edward Island did not report any new COVID-19 data on Monday, but the latest numbers suggest the province has seen a total of 91 cases, 73 of which are considered to be recovered.
Health authorities in Alberta said 1,240 new cases have been detected, and nine more people have died.
The new cases bring the province’s total case count to 91459. To date, 860 people have died after contracting the virus in Alberta.
Meanwhile, in British Columbia 529 new infections and five additional fatalities were reported.
In an interview with Global News, British Columbia’s provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry, said no cases of the new coronavirus strain have been detected in the province, but added that officials are watching “very, very carefully.”
“We went back and looked through all of the virus sequences we have here in B.C. and we do not have that strain that is seen in the U.K.” she said. “But clearly we need to be on the lookout for it.”
Nunavut reported three new cases of the virus on Monday, bringing the territory’s total number of cases to 262.
The territory reported its first two deaths associated with the virus on Sunday.
Neither the Northwest Territories nor the Yukon reported any new cases of the virus on Monday.
So far, the territories have reported 24 cases and 59 cases respectively.
Since the pandemic began, a total of 77,296,617 cases of the novel coronavirus have been detected worldwide, according to a tally from Johns Hopkins University.
As of 7:30 p.m. ET, the virus had claimed 1,700,932 lives around the world.
The United States remained the viral epicentre, with over 18 million confirmed cases and 311,190 deaths to date.
— With files from Emerald Bensadoun
© 2020 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
PORT ALBERNI, B.C. – RCMP say the body of a second person has been found inside their vehicle after a road washed away amid pouring rain on the west coast of Vancouver Island.
Police say two vehicles went into the Sarita River when Bamfield Road washed out on Saturday as an atmospheric river hammered southern B.C.
The body of the other driver was found Sunday.
More coming.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
The B.C. Greens say Sonia Furstenau will be staying on as party leader, despite losing her seat in the legislature in Saturday’s provincial election.
The party says in a statement that its two newly elected MLAs, Jeremy Valeriote and Rob Botterell, support Furstenau’s leadership as they “navigate the prospect of having the balance of power in the legislature.”
Neither the NDP led by Premier David Eby nor the B.C. Conservatives led by John Rustad secured a majority in the election, with two recounts set to take place from Oct. 26 to 28.
Eby says in a news conference that while the election outcome is uncertain, it’s “very likely” that the NDP would need the support of others to pass legislation.
He says he reached out to Furstenau on election night to congratulate her on the Greens’ showing.
But he says the Green party has told the NDP they are “not ready yet” for a conversation about a minority government deal.
The Conservatives went from taking less than two per cent of the vote in 2020 to being elected or leading in 45 ridings, two short of a majority and only one behind the NDP.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 22, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
Toronto FC captain Jonathan Osorio is making a difference, 4,175 kilometres away from home.
The 32-year-old Canadian international midfielder, whose parents hail from Colombia, has been working with the Canadian Colombian Children’s Organization, a charity whose goal is to help disadvantaged youth in the South American country.
Osorio has worked behind the scenes, with no fanfare.
Until now, with his benevolence resulting in becoming Toronto FC’s nominee for the Audi Goals Drive Progress Impact Award, which honours an MLS player “who showed outstanding dedication to charitable efforts and serving the community” during the 2024 season.”
Other nominees include Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder Sebastian Berhalter and CF Montreal goalkeeper Jonathan Sirois.
The winner will be announced in late November.
The Canadian Colombian Children’s Organization (CCCO) is run entirely by volunteers like Monica Figueredo and Claudia Soler. Founded in 1991, it received charitable status in 2005.
The charity currently has four projects on the go: two in Medellin and one each in Armenia and Barranquilla.
They include a school, a home for young girls whose parents are addicted to drugs, after-school and weekend programs for children in a disadvantaged neighbourhood, and nutrition and education help for underprivileged youth.
The organization heard about Osorio and was put in contact with him via an intermediary, which led to a lunch meeting. Osorio did his due diligence and soon got back to the charity with his decision.
“It was something that I wanted to be a part of right away,” said Osorio, whose lone regret is that he didn’t get involved sooner.
“I’m fortunate now that to help more now that I could have back then,” he added. “The timing actually worked out for everybody. For the last three years I have donated to their cause and we’ve built a couple of (football) fields in different cities over there in the schools.”
His father visited one of the sites in Armenia close to his hometown.
“He said it was amazing, the kids, how grateful they are to be able to play on any pitch, really,” said Osorio. “But to be playing on a new pitch, they’re just so grateful and so humble.
“It really makes it worth it being part of this organization.”
The collaboration has also made Osorio take stock.
“We’re very fortunate here in Canada, I think, for the most part. Kids get to go to school and have a roof over their head and things like that. In Colombia, it’s not really the same case. My father and his family grew up in tough conditions, so giving back is like giving back to my father.”
Osorio’s help has been a godsend to the charity.
“We were so surprised with how willing he was,” said Soler.
The TFC skipper has helped pay for a football field in Armenia as well as an ambitious sports complex under construction in Barranquilla.
“It’s been great for them,” Figueredo said of the pitch in Armenia. “Because when they go to school, now they have a proper place to train.”
Osorio has also sent videos encouraging the kids to stay active — as well as shipping soccer balls and signed jerseys their way.
“They know more about Jonathan than the other players in Colombia,” Figueredo said. “That’s the funny part. Even though he’s far away, they’ve connected with him.”
“They feel that they have a future, that they can do more,” she added. “Seeing that was really, really great.”
The kids also followed Osorio through the 2022 World Cup and this summer’s Copa America.
Back home, Osorio has also attended the charity’s annual golf tournament, helping raise funds.
A Toronto native, he has long donated four tickets for every TFC home game to the Hospital for Sick Children.
Vancouver’s Berhalter was nominated for his involvement in the Whitecaps’ partnership with B.C. Children’s Hospital while Montreal’s Sirois was chosen for his work with the Montreal Impact Foundation.
—
Follow @NeilMDavidson on X platform, formerly known as Twitter
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.
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