The latest news on COVID-19 developments in Canada (All times Eastern):
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.
—
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.
—
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.
—
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.
—
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.
—
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.
—
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.
—
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.
The Canadian Press
