Canada reported an additional 6,346 new infections of the novel coronavirus Saturday as several provinces broke new case and fatality records amid the second wave of the pandemic.
The new data, which includes another 93 fatalities from the virus, pushes the country’s total cases to 408,569 and its death toll to 12,589. A total of 324,800 patients have since recovered while over 15,283,000 tests have been administered.
Saturday’s numbers provide a limited snapshot of the virus in Canada. Provinces like P.E.I. and British Columbia as well as both the Yukon and Northwest Territories do not report new case data over the weekend.
As the number of COVID-19 cases surges, hospitalizations and deaths also continue to grip communities across the country.
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The nation’s top doctor said that Canada still has a “long road ahead” in its fight against the virus, despite plans to roll-out a vaccine in the new year.
“All along the way Canadians have made sacrifices and despite a still long road ahead, there is some good news on the horizon,” Canada’s chief public health officer, Dr. Theresa Tam, wrote in a statement Saturday.
2:25 Quebec reports more than 2,000 new COVID-19 cases for the first time since pandemic began
Quebec reports more than 2,000 new COVID-19 cases for the first time since pandemic began
“An initial supply of vaccines is expected to become available in early 2021 and although supply will be limited at the outset, Canada is well-positioned to provide access to safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines for all Canadians.”
Tam, who noted the logistical and operational challenges of distributing the vaccine, also reiterated that “any and all” vaccines approved by Health Canada would meet the highest standards of safety and effectiveness.
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According to the latest epidemiological data, a daily average of 6,168 new cases were diagnosed every day from Nov. 27 to Dec. 3, with 7.4 per cent of 74,596 daily tests turning out to be positive. A daily average of 87 virus-related deaths were also being reported during the same period.
“The latest longer-range forecasting, using a model from Simon Fraser University, forecasts that if we continue on the current trajectory, we could have 10,000 cases daily by January,” warned Tam, who also noted the burdening impact of the virus’ spread on both the country’s high-risk population as well as its health-care workforce.
Quebec added more than 2,000 new cases of the virus for the first time Saturday, with health officials reporting 2,031 confirmed infections in their latest update. The province also announced 48 more deaths attributed to the virus — of which only 11 occurred in the past 24 hours.
Health officials in the province said that the high case count was inflated, however, because a number of cases identified the day before that were not reported in Friday’s case count. To date, the province’s total cases stand at 149,908 and its death toll at 7,231.
Both Ontario and Alberta posted record-high case counts Saturday as well.
3:40 COVID-19: Who will get the vaccine first?
COVID-19: Who will get the vaccine first?
In Alberta, provincial authorities added 1,879 new cases. The data, which included another six deaths, pushed the province’s total caseload to 66,730.
Ontario, on the other hand, reported 1,859 more cases — raising its total infections to 125,385. The new cases mark the single highest increase in new COVID-19 infections since the 1,855 reported on Nov. 27. Another 20 deaths were also added by the province, pushing Ontario’s death toll to 3,757.
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8:48 Universal Basic Income: Can the pandemic make it a reality?
Universal Basic Income: Can the pandemic make it a reality?
Manitoba also set a new record Saturday, as authorities confirmed 19 additional deaths due to the virus. The province’s death toll now stands at 381 and its caseload at 18,423 after Saturday’s announcement. Saskatchewan added 203 new cases and no new deaths on Saturday.
In Atlantic Canada, New Brunswick added two more cases, Nova Scotia six and Newfoundland and Labrador another four. Nunavut, which lifted it’s COVID-19 lockdown everywhere except for its hotspot Arviat this week, posted eight more cases on Saturday.
Globally, cases of the novel coronavirus continue to spread, with over 66,442,000 infections being reported so far according to a tally kept by Johns Hopkins University. A total of 1,526,000 deaths have also been attributed to the virus, with the United States, Brazil and India continuing to lead in both infections and deaths.
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.
