The latest news on COVID-19 developments in Canada (all times Eastern):
7:30 p.m.
Alberta’s chief medical health officer says there are 341 new COVID-19 cases in the province in the previous 24 hours, and one additional death.
Dr. Deena Hinshaw says in a series of tweets that the new cases include 36 which are tied to virus variant of concern.
She says there are 4,649 active COVID-19 cases in Alberta, with the number of those hospitalized falling to 247.
She says 42 of those patients are in intensive care.
Hinshaw says today’s test positivity rate is 4.1 per cent.
—
3:10 p.m.
Saskatchewan is reporting three new COVID-19 deaths among residents who tested positive for COVID-19.
The province’s daily pandemic update says all three were from the Saskatoon zone and ranged in age from their 50s to their 80s.
The update also notes there 163 new COVID-19 cases in the province today.
Saskatchewan has 1,613 cases that are considered active, and 142 people currently in hospital with the virus.
—
2:55 p.m.
Nunavut is reporting another four new cases of COVID-19 today.
All are in Arviat, bringing the total number of active cases there to 21.
The community is the only one in Nunavut with active cases.
Officials also reported four additional cases in Arviat on Friday, plus 10 the day before.
Nunavut’s chief public health officer, Dr. Michael Patterson, said Friday that despite the new cases, the outbreak in the community is contained.
—
2 p.m.
Manitoba is reporting one new COVID-19 death today — a woman in her 20s in the Winnipeg health region.
The daily pandemic update from the province notes there were 66 new COVID-19 cases as of 9:30 this morning, six of which are the variant originally found in the United Kingdom and three of which are a variant first detected in South Africa.
The update says Manitoba’s five-day COVID-19 test positivity rate is 3.1 per cent provincially and 2.2 per cent in Winnipeg.
There are 1,114 active COVID-19 cases in Manitoba, with 158 patients in hospital.
—
1:15 p.m.
New Brunswick health authorities are reporting six new cases of COVID-19.
Officials say all six patients are self-isolating and contact tracing is underway.
There are now 35 reported active COVID-19 infections in New Brunswick with three people in hospital, including two in intensive care.
Public health has confirmed 1,453 cases in the province since the onset of the pandemic, including 28 deaths.
—
12:50 p.m.
Newfoundland and Labrador health authorities are reporting two new cases of COVID-19.
Officials say both cases are close contacts of previously identified patients.
Authorities say there are now 87 active reported COVID-19 cases across the province.
All but two of those infections are in the eastern health region, where an outbreak spread rapidly through the St. John’s metro area last month.
—
11:25 a.m.
Nova Scotia health officials are reporting six new cases of COVID-19 today.
Authorities say all six infections are connected to travel or to previously identified cases.
Public health says there are now 29 active reported cases of COVID-19 across the province, with two people in hospital with the disease.
There have been 1,657 infections reported in the province since the onset of the pandemic.
—
11:15 a.m.
Quebec is reporting 749 new COVID-19 infections over the past 24 hours, along with 10 new deaths linked to the virus.
The province also says it administered 19,865 doses of a COVID-19 vaccine on Friday, marking a new single-day high for Quebec’s immunization drive.
Hospitalizations in the province declined by 16 to 601 today, while the number of patients in intensive care decreased by two to 109.
—
10:30 a.m.
Ontario is reporting comparatively low COVID-19 case figures today, logging 990 new infections and six virus-related deaths over the past 24 hours.
Health Minister Christine Elliott says there are 284 new cases in Toronto, 173 in Peel Region, and 82 in York Region.
Two of those long-standing hotspots, Toronto and Peel, are due to rejoin the province’s COVID-19 response framework at the grey lockdown level starting on Monday.
The province is also reporting a single-day high of 39,698 doses of COVID-19 vaccine administered since Friday’s update.
—
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 6, 2021.
EDMONTON – RCMP say a second suspect has been arrested in the killing of an Alberta county worker.
Mounties say 28-year-old Elijah Strawberry was taken into custody Friday at a house on O’Chiese First Nation.
Colin Hough, a worker with Rocky View County, was shot and killed while on the job on a rural road east of Calgary on Aug. 6.
Another man who worked for Fortis Alberta was shot and wounded, and RCMP said the suspects fled in a Rocky View County work truck.
Police later arrested Arthur Wayne Penner, 35, and charged him with first-degree murder and attempted murder, and a warrant was issued for Strawberry’s arrest.
RCMP also said there was a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Strawberry, describing him as armed and dangerous.
Chief Supt. Roberta McKale, told a news conference in Edmonton that officers had received tips and information over the last few weeks.
“I don’t know of many members that when were stopped, fuelling up our vehicles, we weren’t keeping an eye out, looking for him,” she said.
But officers had been investigating other cases when they found Strawberry.
“Our investigators were in O’Chiese First Nation at a residence on another matter and the major crimes unit was there working another file and ended up locating him hiding in the residence,” McKale said.
While an investigation is still underway, RCMP say they’re confident both suspects in the case are in police custody.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
RICHMOND, B.C. – The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team says the 26-year-old son of a man found dead on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast has been charged with his murder.
Police say 58-year-old Henry Doyle was found badly injured on a forest service road in Egmont last September and died of his injuries.
The homicide team took over when the BC Coroners Service said the man’s death was suspicious.
It says in a statement that the BC Prosecution Service has approved one count of first-degree murder against the man’s son, Jackson Doyle.
Police say the accused will remain in custody until at least his next court appearance.
The homicide team says investigators remained committed to solving the case with the help of the community of Egmont, the RCMP on the Sunshine Coast and in Richmond, and the Vancouver Police Department.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
VANCOUVER – Mediated talks between the union representing HandyDART workers in Metro Vancouver and its employer, Transdev, have broken off without an agreement following 15 hours of talks.
Joe McCann, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724, says they stayed at the bargaining table with help from a mediator until 2 a.m. Friday and made “some progress.”
However, he says the union negotiators didn’t get an offer that they could recommend to the membership.
McCann says that in some ways they are close to an agreement, but in other areas they are “miles apart.”
About 600 employees of the door-to-door transit service for people who can’t navigate the conventional transit system have been on strike since last week, pausing service for all but essential medical trips.
McCann asks HandyDART users to be “patient,” since they are trying to get not only a fair contract for workers but also a better service for customers.
He says it’s unclear when the talks will resume, but he hopes next week at the latest.
The employer, Transdev, didn’t reply to an interview request before publication.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
