The latest news on COVID-19 developments in Canada (All times Eastern):
7:35 p.m.
Alberta’s top doctor says an Edmonton arena is being set up as an alternate hospital with help from the Canadian Red Cross.
Chief medical health officer Dr. Deena Hinshaw says Alberta Health Services and the national charity are putting 100 patient beds in the Butterdome arena at the University of Alberta.
She says it will take a few weeks to set up the site, but there is no plan to staff it unless the beds are needed.
Another alternate site was previously set up at Calgary’s Peter Lougheed Centre.
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6:50 p.m.
British Columbia’s death toll due to COVID-19 is surging with another two dozen deaths.
There have now been 692 deaths since the pandemic began.
A joint statement from provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix says 409 doses of the COVID vaccine were administered on Tuesday and the province expects to see weekly vaccine deliveries starting next week.
There were 640 new cases of COVID, bringing the provincial total to 44,103.
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5:40 p.m.
Alberta is reporting 1,270 new cases of COVID-19, one of its lowest daily infection counts in weeks.
The province also says another 16 people have died from the novel coronavirus.
There are 749 people in hospital, and 139 of them are in intensive care.
Alberta started vaccinating health-care workers yesterday.
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5:30 p.m.
Health Canada is warning Canadians against buying COVID-19 vaccines online or from other unauthorized sources.
The federal regulator says these vaccines are counterfeit and might pose serious risks to one’s health, on top of being ineffective at protecting against COVID-19.
Health Canada says the only way to be immunized against COVID-19 safely is through clinics either organized or endorsed by a local public health authority, alongside other levels of government.
It says Interpol has issued a global alert to all of its 194 member countries to warn of the issue.
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3:20 p.m.
Nunavut says it has no new cases of COVID-19 to report today.
There are still 41 active cases in Arviat, the only community that currently has infections.
The territory announced its first case of COVID-19 in early November.
So far, 217 people have recovered from the illness.
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3 p.m.
Toronto Mayor John Tory says that he has been in discussion with neighbouring regions for a stricter lockdown.
Toronto and neighbouring Peel and York regions are already in Ontario’s highest level of restrictions.
Tory says that people are not staying home like they did in the spring and that one response would be to close all but the most essential businesses so there is nowhere to go.
Toronto reported 850 new cases of COVID-19 today and 19 more deaths linked to the virus.
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2:40 p.m.
Saskatchewan is reporting 169 new COVID-19 cases.
There are 124 people in hospital, with 30 people in intensive care.
Health officials report the province’s weekly average of new daily cases is 243.
It’s the first time in weeks that figure has dropped below 250, which Premier Scott Moe says is too high.
He says comments made last week by Health Minister Paul Merriman, where he referenced an opinion poll when asked how the government measures its COVID-19 success, wasn’t appropriate.
Moe says he doesn’t know if there’s a way to measure success when it comes to tackling a new virus.
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2:20 p.m.
After the province’s first vaccines against COVID-19 were administered, public health officials in Newfoundland and Labrador reported five new cases of the virus.
Officials say all five infections are travel-related.
Two cases affect residents of the province who returned home from work in Alberta, and three affect non-residents who came to the province from Asia.
Public health says all five are self-isolating and contact tracing is underway.
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2:15 p.m.
Manitoba announced 15 more deaths and 292 cases as the province’s first vaccines were administered today.
Dr. Brent Roussin, the chief provincial public health officer, says 900 health-care workers will receive doses this week.
He says it’s an important first step, but the risk in the province remains significant.
High daily infections for months put pressure on the health-care system and led to restrictions in November.
There are 328 people in hospital due to COVID-19, with 46 people in intensive care.
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1 p.m.
Public health officials in New Brunswick are reporting eight new cases of COVID-19 today.
The eight cases are self-isolating and include one person in the Moncton region, five in the Fredericton region and two in the Edmundston area.
The province has 51 active cases and three people are in hospital, including two in intensive care.
New Brunswick has had 567 cases and eight deaths since the pandemic began.
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12 p.m.
Nova Scotia is reporting four new cases of COVID-19 today and now has 55 active cases.
All of the new cases are in the Halifax area.
Health officials say three of the cases are close contacts of previously reported cases while the other case is under investigation.
No one is currently in hospital.
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11:40 a.m.
Public health officials in Prince Edward Island have begun to administer the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.
Front-line workers Heather Arsenault, Debbie Lawless and Dr. Chris Lantz, who all work at long-term care homes, were among the first people to receive the vaccine on the Island.
The vaccine is being administered at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Charlottetown.
The province received 1,950 doses of the vaccine in its first shipment.
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11:35 a.m.
A public health nurse in St. John’s is the first person in Newfoundland and Labrador to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
Ellen Foley-Vick said she felt like she got an early Christmas present as the province’s chief medical officer of health, Dr. Janice Fitzgerald, put a Band-Aid on her arm after administering the shot.
Premier Andrew Furey told a room full of masked and socially-distanced onlookers at Memorial University’s medical school that the province’s first vaccination marked a generational moment.
Newfoundland and Labrador received its 1,950 first doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine yesterday and health officials expect another delivery next week.
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11:20 a.m.
Quebec is reporting 1,897 new COVID-19 infections and 43 more deaths attributed to the novel coronavirus.
Health officials said today hospitalizations increased by 16, to 975, and 128 people were in intensive care, a rise of three.
The province says 1,315 doses of vaccine were distributed yesterday, bringing the total number of people who have received the first dose of vaccine in the province to 1,613.
Quebec has reported a total of 168,173 COVID-19 infections and 7,613 deaths linked to the virus.
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11:15 a.m.
The first person to receive the COVID-19 vaccine in Manitoba was a doctor who says he’s grateful to keep his patients in the intensive care unit safe.
Dr. Brian Penner, who works at Health Sciences Centre, says he feels extremely lucky to be able to get the Pfizer vaccine at around 8:30 a.m. at the University of Manitoba’s Bannatyne campus.
Health officials say Manitoba will receive enough of the vaccine to immunize about 900 health-care workers.
Premier Brian Pallister said yesterday that the initial vaccinations were a small but critical first step.
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10:55 a.m.
Ontario is reporting 2,139 new cases of COVID-19 today, and 43 new deaths due to the virus.
Health Minister Christine Elliott says 780 cases were in Toronto, 528 in Peel Region, 148 in York Region, 143 in Durham, and 111 in Windsor-Essex.
The province says it has conducted over 49-thousand tests since the last daily report.
In total, 932 people are hospitalized in Ontario due to COVID-19, including 256 in intensive care.
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10:20 a.m.
Frontline health workers in Halifax are the first people in Nova Scotia to receive COVID-19 vaccinations.
A clinic is underway on the campus of Dalhousie University where Danielle Sheaves, a registered nurse, was the first recipient of a shot.
Among the first to receive the vaccine this month will be workers at COVID-19 hospital units, emergency departments, critical care units as well as birth and early labour units at the IWK Health Centre in Halifax.
Long-term care staff who are directly involved in patient care in the Halifax area will also receive the vaccine this month.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 16, 2020.
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — The Tampa Bay Lightning selected Victor Hedman as the team captain on Wednesday as training camp opened, making the big defenseman the successor to Steven Stamkos.
Hedman, who is going into his 16th season with Tampa Bay, was considered the obvious choice to get the “C” after the Lightning did not re-sign Stamkos and their longtime captain left to join Nashville.
“Victor is a cornerstone player that is extremely well respected by his teammates, coaches and peers across the NHL,” general manager Julien BriseBois said. “Over the past 15 seasons, he has been a world-class representative for our organization both on and off the ice. Victor embodies what it means to be a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning and is more than ready for this exciting opportunity. We are looking forward to watching him flourish in his new role as we continue to work towards our goal of winning the Stanley Cup.”
The 33-year-old from Sweden was a key contributor in the Lightning hoisting the Cup back to back in 2020 and ’21, including playoff MVP honors on the first of those championship runs. Hedman also took home the Norris Trophy as the NHL’s top defenseman in 2018 and finished in the top three in voting five other seasons.
Ryan McDonagh, who was reacquired early in the offseason in a trade with the Predators, and MVP finalist Nikita Kucherov will serve as alternate captains with the Lightning moving on to the post-Stamkos era.
TORONTO – While Toronto FC is looking to improve its position on the pitch, general manager Jason Hernandez is trying to do the same off it.
That has been easier said than done this season.
Sending winger Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty to CF Montreal for up to $1.3 million (all dollar figures in U.S. funds) in general allocation money before the secondary transfer window closed in early August helped set the stage for future moves.
But there have been plenty of obstacles, which Hernandez has been working to clear.
“We feel a lot more confident going into this upcoming off-season that we did the one prior,” said Hernandez. “There’s a level of what I would say booby-traps that were uncovered when I first got the (GM) role at the end of last summer.”
The club is paying off departed forwards Adam Diomande and Ayo Akinola as well as a $500,000 payment due in 2024 to Belgium’s Anderlecht for Jamaican international defender Kemar Lawrence. That payment was part of the transfer fee for Lawrence, who joined TFC from Anderlecht in May 2021 and was traded to Minnesota United in March 2022.
Diomande was waived while Akinola’s contract was terminated by mutual agreement.
“That comes to an end in ’25, which is nice,” said Hernandez. “We had to suffer from a salary cap perspective this season. But those things coming off, the Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty money coming in, we’re going to be in a position to make some good additions, which is positive.”
While MLS clubs are allowed one contract buyout per year, Toronto had already used its on former captain Michel Bradley, who retired after last season. Bradley had previously restructured his contract, deferring money.
TFC’s only other move during the summer transfer window was the signing of free-agent defender Henry Wingo. Hernandez said the club knew going into the window that it was likely limited to the one acquisition “unless other business happened”
“We knew we had this bucket of money and we knew we were going to go get Henry,” said Hernandez.
While the sale of the highly touted Marshall-Rutty opened up other possibilities, it came on the eve of the transfer window closing. And the team did not like what it saw in the free-agent market.
“A lot of the opportunities we were presented in the free agency space felt more like a short-term, Band-Aid decision versus what actually the club probably needs.”
Hernandez was not willing to take in players who came with a “club-friendly” salary cap charge in 2024 and a much bigger number in 2025.
Instead, Toronto promoted forward Charlie Sharp and wingback Nate Edwards to the first team from TFC 2 ahead of last Friday’s roster freeze.
MLS teams are operating on a salary budget of $5.47 million this season, which covers up to 20 players on the senior roster (clubs can elect to spread that number across 18 players). But the league has several mechanisms that allow those funds to go further, including using allocation money (both general and targeted) to buy down salaries.
Designated players only count $683,750 — the maximum salary charge — against the cap no matter their actual pay. Toronto’s Lorenzo Insigne is actually earning $15.4 million with fellow Italian Federico Bernardeschi collecting $6.295 million and Canadian Richie Laryea $1.208 million.
Hernandez says Laryea’s contract can — and “very likely” will — be restructured so as to remove the designated player status.
There are benefits in going with just two designated players rather than three.
Teams that elect to go with two DPs can sign up to four players as part of the league’s “U22 Initiative.” The pluses of that structure include a reduced salary cap charge for the young players and up to an extra $2 million in general allocation money.
Hernandez says the club is currently pondering whether that is the way to go.
Captain Jonathan Osorio who is earning $836,370 this season, restructured his deal to allow the team to sign Laryea as a DP. In doing so, Osorio had his option year guaranteed so his contact runs through 2026.
Hernandez and coach John Herdman will have decisions to make come the end of the year.
The contracts of goalkeeper Greg Ranjitsingh ($94,200), defenders Kevin Long ($277,500), Shane O’Neill ($413,000) and Kobe Franklin ($100,520), midfielder Alonso Coello ($94,050) and Brandon Servania ($602,710), and forward Prince Owusu ($807,500) — all on the club’s senior roster — expire at the end of 2024 with club options to follow.
While there is more work to do, Hernandez believes TFC is on the right road.
Toronto, which finished last in the league at 4-20-10 in 2023, went into Wednesday’s game against visiting Columbus in a playoff position at eighth in the East at 11-15-3.
“By every metric, we are miles ahead of where we were at this point last year,” said Hernandez.
“That’s a low bar, so that’s not saying much,” he added.
But he believes TFC is “quite competitive” when it has all its players at its disposal.
“To get results in this final stretch, we’re going to need our prominent players to really show up and have big performances, and be supported by the rest of the cast.”
After Columbus, TFC plays at Colorado and Chicago and hosts the New York Red Bulls and Inter Miami. The club also travels to Vancouver for the Canadian Championship final.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2024
Mackenzie Hughes might just be what the International team needs as this year’s Presidents Cup.
Hughes, from Dundas, Ont., is one of three Canadians on the squad competing in the match-play event at Royal Montreal Golf Club next week.
His putting skills, cool demeanour under pressure, pre-existing connections with teammates and clubhouse leadership could help the team — made up of non-American players outside Europe — end a nine-tournament losing skid to the United States at the biennial event.
“I’ve had this one circled on the calendar for a few years now,” said Hughes on joining fellow Canadians Taylor Pendrith and Corey Conners as captain’s picks on the 12-player International team. “I pretty much knew that when it was announced the tournament would be in Canada and that Mike Weir was going to be the captain, you pretty much knew where that was going to go.
“To get that call from (Weir) is really special because he’s the guy that I looked up to, we all looked up to, as Canadian golfers.”
Pendrith and Conners are returning to the team after a disappointing 17 1/2 to 12 1/2 loss to the United States at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, N.C. in 2022.
Hughes was ranked 14th on the International team standings in 2022 and could have easily been included on that squad after Australia’s Cameron Smith and Chile’s Joaquin Niemann were ruled ineligible after jumping ship to the rival LIV Golf circuit.
However, captain Trevor Immelman of South Africa instead chose the lower ranked Christiaan Bezuidenhout (16th) of South Africa, Pendrith (18th), South Korea’s Kim Si-woo (20th) and Australia’s Cameron Davis (25th).
“I certainly wanted to be on that team but also I understood the picks,” said Hughes, who lives in Charlotte and plays at Quail Hollow regularly. “I think that like a lot of guys that don’t get picked you more so look back on your own play and I wish I had made that selection easier for them.
“I didn’t do myself any favours in the six weeks leading up to it and that’s a hard pill to swallow.”
It may have been a costly oversight on Immelman’s part, as finishing holes was an issue for the International team in 2022 and Hughes is one of the best putters on the PGA Tour. This season he’s third in shots gained around the green and fifth in shots gained from putting.
“It doesn’t mean that just because I was there it would have turned the tide, but I’d like to think maybe I could have helped,” said Hughes. “That’s why you play the matches. You have to get out there and do it.”
This year Hughes made it easier for Weir, the Canadian golf legend from Brights Grove, Ont., to choose him. Hughes is 51st in the FedEx Cup Fall standings and has made the cut seven tournaments in a row, including a tie for fourth at last week’s Procore Championship.
“Mac played very solidly all year. Really like his short game, an all-around short game,” said Weir on Sept. 3 after announcing his captain’s picks. “He’s one of the elite and best short game guys on the PGA Tour
“I also love Mac’s grit. So that was the reason I picked him.”
Hughes’s intangible qualities go beyond grit.
He, Pendrith and Conners will arrive at Royal Montreal as a unit within the International squad, having become close friends while playing on Kent State University’s men’s golf team before turning pro. They’re also part of a group of Canadians, including Nick Taylor and Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., that regularly practice together before PGA Tour events.
“To have those guys with me is really icing on the cake, it’s very special,” said Hughes. “Opportunities like this don’t come around very often: to play this kind of team competition, which is already hard to do, but to play with some of your best friends, it almost seems scripted.”
An 11-year professional, Hughes has also been a member of the PGA Tour’s player advisory council the past two years and has been an outspoken advocate for making professional golf more accessible to fans.
Although Weir relied heavily on analytics to make his captain’s selections, Hughes’s character came up again and again when asked why he was named to the team.
“I just have a gut feeling with Mac that he has what it takes in these big moments,” said Weir. “They’re big pressure moments, and I have a feeling he’s going to do great in those moments.”
DP WORLD TOUR — Aaron Cockerill of Stony Mountain, Man., continues his chase for a spot in the Europe-based DP World Tour’s playoffs. The top 50 players on the Race to Dubai standings make the DP World Tour Championship and Cockerill moved eight spots up to 39th in the rankings after tying for ninth at last week’s Irish Open. He’ll be back at it on Thursday at the BMW PGA Championship at the Wentworth Club in Surrey, England.
KORN FERRY TOUR — Myles Creighton of Digby, N.S., is ranked 38th on the second-tier Korn Ferry Tour’s points list. He leads the Canadian contingent into this week’s Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship. He’ll be joined at Ohio State University Golf Club — Scarlet Course in Columbus, Ohio by Edmonton’s Wil Bateman (53rd), Etienne Papineau (65th) of St-Jean-Sur-Richelieu, Que., and Sudarshan Yellamaraju (99th) of Mississauga, Ont.
CHAMPIONS TOUR — Calgary’s Stephen Ames is the lone Canadian at this week’s Pure Insurance Championship. He’s No. 2 on the senior circuit’s points list. The event will start Friday and be played at Pebble Beach Golf Links and Spyglass Hill Golf Course in Monterey, Calif.
LPGA TOUR — There are four Canadians in this week’s Kroger City Championship. Savannah Grewal (97th in the Race to CME Globe Rankings) of Mississauga, Ont., Hamilton’s Alena Sharp (115th), and Maude-Aimee Leblanc (142nd) of Sherbrooke, Que., will all tee it up at TPC River’s Bend in Maineville, Ohio.
EPSON TOUR — Vancouver’s Leah John is the low Canadian heading into the Murphy USA El Dorado Shootout. She’s 54th in the second-tier tour’s points list. She’ll be joined by Maddie Szeryk (118th) of London, Ont., and Brigitte Thibault (119th) of Rosemere, Que., at Mystic Creek Golf Club in El Dorado, Ark.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2024.
