The latest news on COVID-19 developments in Canada (all times Eastern):
8:15 p.m.
Yukon says it has three new cases of COVID-19 with all the infections in Watson Lake.
Chief medical health officer Dr. Brendan Hanley says this is the fourth incidence of infection in a rural community.
The cases bring the territory’s total number of infections to 20 people.
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7:15 p.m.
B.C. is reporting 223 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, tipping the number of active infections over 2,000.
Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says in a statement contact tracing teams throughout B.C. are working around the clock.
But she says their success depends on everyone doing their part and taking a step back from social interactions.
There have been two new community outbreaks, one at a hot tub and spa manufacturing company and one at a food processing business in Langley.
Seventy-five people are in hospital, including 24 in intensive care, but no one else has died from the illness since the province’s last update.
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2 p.m.
Quebec’s deputy premier has a dire warning for those living in the provincial capital and the neighbouring Chaudiere-Appalaches region amid a rising number of cases of COVID-19.
Genevieve Guilbault says people haven’t been following public health guidelines, resulting in a spike of cases in the two regions that could threaten the ability to provide medical treatment if it’s not brought under control.
Both regions were largely spared during the first wave, but Guilbault says in Chaudiere-Appalaches, there have been four times more cases and five times more deaths this time.
The Quebec City region holds the dubious distinction of having the highest number of active cases per 100,000 population in the province.
Guilbault was joined by the mayors of Levis and Quebec City, urging the population to limit their contacts and follow public health guidelines.
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1:50 p.m.
A man in his 80s is the latest death linked to the deadliest COVID-19 outbreak in a Manitoba care home.
There has been a total of 15 deaths at the Parkview Place care home in Winnipeg.
There were 163 new infections Friday, the vast majority in the capital city.
Winnipeg went weeks without any new infections over the summer, but case numbers have risen rapidly in the last two months.
A total of 33 cases have now also been connected to a poultry plant in Blumenort, southeast of Winnipeg, and the company says one employee has died.
Quebec-based company Exceldor, which owns the plant, says an investigation is ongoing to see whether the death of the 42-year-old man is related to his COVID-19 infection.
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1:15 p.m.
Newfoundland and Labrador is asking passengers who travelled on Air Canada Flight 7484 from Toronto to Deer Lake on Oct. 12 to call 811 to arrange for a test.
Health officials say the request for testing is being made out of an abundance of caution.
The request stems from a new case of COVID-19 announced Thursday affecting a man between 20 and 39 years old who returned to the province from work in Alberta.
On Thursday, officials said the man was self-isolating and contact tracing was still underway.
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1:05 p.m.
New Brunswick is reporting two new cases of COVID-19.
Both are in the Campbellton region, which is one of two areas in the province that were hit by significant outbreaks of novel coronavirus two weeks ago.
Health officials say the two new cases involve a person 40 to 49 years old and a person between 70 and 79 — both are self-isolating.
There are currently 75 active cases in a province that has confirmed 324 overall cases, while 245 people have recovered and four people have died.
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11:50 a.m.
Canada saw a record high number of COVID-19 cases diagnosed yesterday, with 2,788 new illnesses recorded.
In an Ottawa news conference, Canada’s chief public health officer is calling, again, for Canadians to reduce their contacts with other people, wear masks and follow hygiene protocols.
Dr. Theresa Tam says the longer we wait to curb the spread of COVID-19, the harder it will be to contain.
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11:45 a.m.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada is spending $214 million to produce potential COVID-19 vaccines in Canada.
That includes a deal with Quebec’s Medicago and one with British Columbia’s Precision NanoSystems, both of which are working on potential vaccines.
Trudeau says the Medicago agreement includes the rights to buy up to 76 million doses of its vaccine, if it proves safe and effective, and funding for a factory in Quebec City to produce them.
The prime minister also says Canada has received “hundreds of thousands” of test kits from medical company Abbott to be distributed to the provinces and territories.
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11:20 a.m.
Two more vaccine makers have asked Health Canada to study their product before it has completed clinical trials.
Both Moderna and Pfizer applied to Health Canada on Oct. 12 to have their vaccine candidates studied by the regulator.
Health Canada is trying to review the vaccines at the same time they are undergoing final clinical tests so they can be approved for use here as quickly as possible.
AstraZeneca applied for its vaccine candidate on Oct. 1.
All three vaccine candidates are among the ones Canada will get access to if they are deemed safe and effective.
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11:15 a.m.
Quebec is reporting 905 new cases of COVID-19 and 12 more deaths attributed to the novel coronavirus.
Authorities said today four COVID-related deaths occurred in the past 24 hours.
Hospitalizations dropped by 13 compared with the prior day, for a total of 540.
The province has reported a total of 98,226 COVID-19 infections and 6,106 deaths linked to the virus.
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11 a.m.
Ontario is reporting 826 new cases of COVID-19 today, and nine new deaths due to the virus.
Health Minister Christine Elliott says 292 cases are in Toronto, 186 in Peel Region, 87 in Ottawa, and 72 in York Region.
The province says it has conducted 40,019 tests since the last daily report, with another 35,436 being processed.
In total, 276 people are hospitalized in Ontario due to COVID-19, including 78 in intensive care.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2020.
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.
