The latest numbers of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Canada as of 4 a.m. ET on Wednesday Dec. 17, 2020.
There are 481,630 confirmed cases in Canada.
_ Canada: 481,630 confirmed cases (75,885 active, 391,946 resolved, 13,799 deaths).*The total case count includes 13 confirmed cases among repatriated travellers.
There were 6,416 new cases Wednesday from 64,919 completed tests, for a positivity rate of 9.9 per cent. The rate of active cases is 201.88 per 100,000 people. Over the past seven days, there have been a total of 46,300 new cases. The seven-day rolling average of new cases is 6,614.
There were 140 new reported deaths Wednesday. Over the past seven days there have been a total of 816 new reported deaths. The seven-day rolling average of new reported deaths is 117. The seven-day rolling average of the death rate is 0.31 per 100,000 people. The overall death rate is 36.71 per 100,000 people.
There have been 12,756,869 tests completed.
_ Newfoundland and Labrador: 364 confirmed cases (23 active, 337 resolved, four deaths).
There were five new cases Wednesday from 582 completed tests, for a positivity rate of 0.86 per cent. The rate of active cases is 4.41 per 100,000 people. Over the past seven days, there have been a total of 11 new cases. The seven-day rolling average of new cases is two.
There have been no deaths reported over the past week. The overall death rate is 0.77 per 100,000 people.
There have been 68,326 tests completed.
_ Prince Edward Island: 89 confirmed cases (16 active, 73 resolved, zero deaths).
There were zero new cases Wednesday from 939 completed tests, for a positivity rate of 0.0 per cent. The rate of active cases is 10.19 per 100,000 people. Over the past seven days, there have been a total of five new cases. The seven-day rolling average of new cases is one.
There have been no deaths reported over the past week. The overall death rate is zero per 100,000 people.
There have been 74,161 tests completed.
_ Nova Scotia: 1,430 confirmed cases (55 active, 1,310 resolved, 65 deaths).
There were four new cases Wednesday from 1,583 completed tests, for a positivity rate of 0.25 per cent. The rate of active cases is 5.66 per 100,000 people. Over the past seven days, there have been a total of 41 new cases. The seven-day rolling average of new cases is six.
There have been no deaths reported over the past week. The overall death rate is 6.69 per 100,000 people.
There have been 164,699 tests completed.
_ New Brunswick: 567 confirmed cases (52 active, 507 resolved, eight deaths).
There were eight new cases Wednesday from 567 completed tests, for a positivity rate of 1.4 per cent. The rate of active cases is 6.69 per 100,000 people. Over the past seven days, there have been a total of 25 new cases. The seven-day rolling average of new cases is four.
There were zero new reported deaths Wednesday. Over the past seven days there has been one new reported death. The seven-day rolling average of new reported deaths is zero. The seven-day rolling average of the death rate is 0.02 per 100,000 people. The overall death rate is 1.03 per 100,000 people.
There have been 110,544 tests completed.
_ Quebec: 169,173 confirmed cases (17,392 active, 144,168 resolved, 7,613 deaths).
There were 1,897 new cases Wednesday from 9,999 completed tests, for a positivity rate of 19 per cent. The rate of active cases is 204.97 per 100,000 people. Over the past seven days, there have been a total of 12,705 new cases. The seven-day rolling average of new cases is 1,815.
There were 42 new reported deaths Wednesday. Over the past seven days there have been a total of 264 new reported deaths. The seven-day rolling average of new reported deaths is 38. The seven-day rolling average of the death rate is 0.44 per 100,000 people. The overall death rate is 89.72 per 100,000 people.
There have been 2,359,553 tests completed.
_ Ontario: 146,535 confirmed cases (17,084 active, 125,416 resolved, 4,035 deaths).
There were 2,139 new cases Wednesday from 47,580 completed tests, for a positivity rate of 4.5 per cent. The rate of active cases is 117.28 per 100,000 people. Over the past seven days, there have been a total of 13,735 new cases. The seven-day rolling average of new cases is 1,962.
There were 43 new reported deaths Wednesday. Over the past seven days there have been a total of 199 new reported deaths. The seven-day rolling average of new reported deaths is 28. The seven-day rolling average of the death rate is 0.2 per 100,000 people. The overall death rate is 27.7 per 100,000 people.
There have been 6,876,041 tests completed.
_ Manitoba: 21,826 confirmed cases (5,797 active, 15,506 resolved, 523 deaths).
There were 291 new cases Wednesday from 2,478 completed tests, for a positivity rate of 12 per cent. The rate of active cases is 423.3 per 100,000 people. Over the past seven days, there have been a total of 2,171 new cases. The seven-day rolling average of new cases is 310.
There were 15 new reported deaths Wednesday. Over the past seven days there have been a total of 85 new reported deaths. The seven-day rolling average of new reported deaths is 12. The seven-day rolling average of the death rate is 0.89 per 100,000 people. The overall death rate is 38.19 per 100,000 people.
There have been 384,964 tests completed.
_ Saskatchewan: 12,594 confirmed cases (4,213 active, 8,283 resolved, 98 deaths).
There were 162 new cases Wednesday from 1,109 completed tests, for a positivity rate of 15 per cent. The rate of active cases is 358.72 per 100,000 people. Over the past seven days, there have been a total of 1,695 new cases. The seven-day rolling average of new cases is 242.
There were zero new reported deaths Wednesday. Over the past seven days there have been a total of 27 new reported deaths. The seven-day rolling average of new reported deaths is four. The seven-day rolling average of the death rate is 0.33 per 100,000 people. The overall death rate is 8.34 per 100,000 people.
There have been 286,679 tests completed.
_ Alberta: 84,597 confirmed cases (20,169 active, 63,668 resolved, 760 deaths).
There were 1,270 new cases Wednesday. The rate of active cases is 461.39 per 100,000 people. Over the past seven days, there have been a total of 11,109 new cases. The seven-day rolling average of new cases is 1,587.
There were 16 new reported deaths Wednesday. Over the past seven days there have been a total of 107 new reported deaths. The seven-day rolling average of new reported deaths is 15. The seven-day rolling average of the death rate is 0.35 per 100,000 people. The overall death rate is 17.39 per 100,000 people.
There have been 1,547,298 tests completed.
_ British Columbia: 44,103 confirmed cases (11,035 active, 32,376 resolved, 692 deaths).
There were 640 new cases Wednesday. The rate of active cases is 217.6 per 100,000 people. Over the past seven days, there have been a total of 4,766 new cases. The seven-day rolling average of new cases is 681.
There were 24 new reported deaths Wednesday. Over the past seven days there have been a total of 133 new reported deaths. The seven-day rolling average of new reported deaths is 19. The seven-day rolling average of the death rate is 0.37 per 100,000 people. The overall death rate is 13.65 per 100,000 people.
There have been 866,132 tests completed.
_ Yukon: 59 confirmed cases (one active, 57 resolved, one deaths).
There were zero new cases Wednesday from 17 completed tests, for a positivity rate of 0.0 per cent. The rate of active cases is 2.45 per 100,000 people. Over the past seven days, there have been a total of one new cases. The seven-day rolling average of new cases is zero.
There have been no deaths reported over the past week. The overall death rate is 2.45 per 100,000 people.
There have been 5,790 tests completed.
_ Northwest Territories: 22 confirmed cases (seven active, 15 resolved, zero deaths).
There were zero new cases Wednesday from 44 completed tests, for a positivity rate of 0.0 per cent. The rate of active cases is 15.62 per 100,000 people. Over the past seven days, there have been a total of seven new cases. The seven-day rolling average of new cases is one.
There have been no deaths reported over the past week. The overall death rate is zero per 100,000 people.
There have been 7,552 tests completed.
_ Nunavut: 258 confirmed cases (41 active, 217 resolved, zero deaths).
There were zero new cases Wednesday from 21 completed tests, for a positivity rate of 0.0 per cent. The rate of active cases is 105.72 per 100,000 people. Over the past seven days, there have been a total of 29 new cases. The seven-day rolling average of new cases is four.
There have been no deaths reported over the past week. The overall death rate is zero per 100,000 people.
There have been 5,054 tests completed.
This report was automatically generated by The Canadian Press Digital Data Desk and was first published Dec. 17, 2020.
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The body of Ugandan Olympic athlete Rebecca Cheptegei — who died after being set on fire by her partner in Kenya — was received Friday by family and anti-femicide crusaders, ahead of her burial a day later.
Cheptegei’s family met with dozens of activists Friday who had marched to the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital’s morgue in the western city of Eldoret while chanting anti-femicide slogans.
She is the fourth female athlete to have been killed by her partner in Kenya in yet another case of gender-based violence in recent years.
Viola Cheptoo, the founder of Tirop Angels – an organization that was formed in honor of athlete Agnes Tirop, who was stabbed to death in 2021, said stakeholders need to ensure this is the last death of an athlete due to gender-based violence.
“We are here to say that enough is enough, we are tired of burying our sisters due to GBV,” she said.
It was a somber mood at the morgue as athletes and family members viewed Cheptegei’s body which sustained 80% of burns after she was doused with gasoline by her partner Dickson Ndiema. Ndiema sustained 30% burns on his body and later succumbed.
Ndiema and Cheptegei were said to have quarreled over a piece of land that the athlete bought in Kenya, according to a report filed by the local chief.
Cheptegei competed in the women’s marathon at the Paris Olympics less than a month before the attack. She finished in 44th place.
Cheptegei’s father, Joseph, said that the body will make a brief stop at their home in the Endebess area before proceeding to Bukwo in eastern Uganda for a night vigil and burial on Saturday.
“We are in the final part of giving my daughter the last respect,” a visibly distraught Joseph said.
He told reporters last week that Ndiema was stalking and threatening Cheptegei and the family had informed police.
Four in 10 women or an estimated 41% of dating or married Kenyan women have experienced physical or sexual violence perpetrated by their current or most recent partner, according to the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey 2022.
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — A rare Bronze-Era jar accidentally smashed by a 4-year-old visiting a museum was back on display Wednesday after restoration experts were able to carefully piece the artifact back together.
Last month, a family from northern Israel was visiting the museum when their youngest son tipped over the jar, which smashed into pieces.
Alex Geller, the boy’s father, said his son — the youngest of three — is exceptionally curious, and that the moment he heard the crash, “please let that not be my child” was the first thought that raced through his head.
The jar has been on display at the Hecht Museum in Haifa for 35 years. It was one of the only containers of its size and from that period still complete when it was discovered.
The Bronze Age jar is one of many artifacts exhibited out in the open, part of the Hecht Museum’s vision of letting visitors explore history without glass barriers, said Inbal Rivlin, the director of the museum, which is associated with Haifa University in northern Israel.
It was likely used to hold wine or oil, and dates back to between 2200 and 1500 B.C.
Rivlin and the museum decided to turn the moment, which captured international attention, into a teaching moment, inviting the Geller family back for a special visit and hands-on activity to illustrate the restoration process.
Rivlin added that the incident provided a welcome distraction from the ongoing war in Gaza. “Well, he’s just a kid. So I think that somehow it touches the heart of the people in Israel and around the world,“ said Rivlin.
Roee Shafir, a restoration expert at the museum, said the repairs would be fairly simple, as the pieces were from a single, complete jar. Archaeologists often face the more daunting task of sifting through piles of shards from multiple objects and trying to piece them together.
Experts used 3D technology, hi-resolution videos, and special glue to painstakingly reconstruct the large jar.
Less than two weeks after it broke, the jar went back on display at the museum. The gluing process left small hairline cracks, and a few pieces are missing, but the jar’s impressive size remains.
The only noticeable difference in the exhibit was a new sign reading “please don’t touch.”
VICTORIA – The British Columbia government is partnering with a bear welfare group to reduce the number of bears being euthanized in the province.
Nicholas Scapillati, executive director of Grizzly Bear Foundation, said Monday that it comes after months-long discussions with the province on how to protect bears, with the goal to give the animals a “better and second chance at life in the wild.”
Scapillati said what’s exciting about the project is that the government is open to working with outside experts and the public.
“So, they’ll be working through Indigenous knowledge and scientific understanding, bringing in the latest techniques and training expertise from leading experts,” he said in an interview.
B.C. government data show conservation officers destroyed 603 black bears and 23 grizzly bears in 2023, while 154 black bears were killed by officers in the first six months of this year.
Scapillati said the group will publish a report with recommendations by next spring, while an independent oversight committee will be set up to review all bear encounters with conservation officers to provide advice to the government.
Environment Minister George Heyman said in a statement that they are looking for new ways to ensure conservation officers “have the trust of the communities they serve,” and the panel will make recommendations to enhance officer training and improve policies.
Lesley Fox, with the wildlife protection group The Fur-Bearers, said they’ve been calling for such a committee for decades.
“This move demonstrates the government is listening,” said Fox. “I suspect, because of the impending election, their listening skills are potentially a little sharper than they normally are.”
Fox said the partnership came from “a place of long frustration” as provincial conservation officers kill more than 500 black bears every year on average, and the public is “no longer tolerating this kind of approach.”
“I think that the conservation officer service and the B.C. government are aware they need to change, and certainly the public has been asking for it,” said Fox.
Fox said there’s a lot of optimism about the new partnership, but, as with any government, there will likely be a lot of red tape to get through.
“I think speed is going to be important, whether or not the committee has the ability to make change and make change relatively quickly without having to study an issue to death, ” said Fox.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 9, 2024.
