The latest news on COVID-19 developments in Canada (all times eastern):
7:20 p.m.
B.C. is reporting 634 new cases of COVID-19, for a total of 83,107 cases since the pandemic began in the province.
There have also been four new deaths, pushing the death toll from the virus to 1,380 in B.C.
Four new cases have been confirmed to be variants of concern, bringing the total to 250, of which 222 are the strain first found in the U.K. and 28 are the variant first detected in South Africa.
Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix say this has been a week of progress, as the province gets ready to begin age-based immunizations and integrate the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine into its program.
Henry and Dix say the newly approved Johnson & Johnson vaccine will be another tool in its program that will help accelerate protection of people in B.C.
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6:15 p.m.
Alberta is reporting 411 new cases of COVID-19 and two more deaths due to the virus.
The province says 22 cases are of the more contagious variants.
There are currently 243 people are in hospital with COVID-19, and 44 of them are in intensive care.
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4:40 p.m.
Alberta Health Minister Tyler Shandro says word of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine being approved is just more good news.
Shandro’s response came on the one-year anniversary of the first case of COVID-19 being identified in his province.
He announced this week that all Albertans who want a vaccination will be able to do so by the end of June.
Shandro said there is still no schedule or any word on how many more doses will be available from J&J but assumes it could accelerate the vaccination process.
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4:25 p.m.
Prince Edward Island is reporting one new case of COVID-19 today.
Health officials say the case involves a man in his 50s who is a close contact of a previously reported infection.
P.E.I. has 24 active reported cases of COVID-19.
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3:50 p.m.
Indigenous Services Canada says there were 1,300 active COVID-19 cases in First Nations communities as of Thursday and 21,836 cases since the pandemic began.
There have been 245 deaths in First Nations communities.
The department says more than 127,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in over 480 First Nations, Inuit and territorial communities as of Thursday.
It says about 40 per cent of people in those communities have received at least one dose.
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2:50 p.m.
Saskatchewan is reporting 207 new cases of COVID-19.
The province also says two more people have died from the illness.
There are 138 people in hospital with the virus, and 22 of them are in intensive care.
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1:50 p.m.
Ontario’s updated vaccination plan will see shots administered based on factors including age, neighbourhood, existing health conditions and inability to work from home.
The province notes, however, that the plan doesn’t factor in the newly approved Johnson & Johnson shot and additional doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
Shots will go to seniors 75 and older starting in April with a goal of offering first shots to everyone 60 and older by the end of May.
Doses will also be offered starting in April to people with specific health conditions and some caregivers, including those in congregate settings.
Thirteen public health units, including Toronto, Windsor, York and Peel, will receive additional doses for hot-spot neighbourhoods between April and June.
Essential workers who can’t work from home will be offered doses at the end of Phase 2, while adults 59 and younger are expected to receive the shot in July, though the timeline is subject to change.
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1:40 p.m.
Manitoba is reporting 53 additional COVID-19 cases and one death.
The province is also reporting one new confirmed case involving the variant first seen in South Africa.
The percentage of people testing positive continues to drop, with the five-day average at three per cent.
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1 p.m.
New Brunswick is reporting four new cases of COVID-19, three of which are in the Miramichi region.
Health officials say the province has 33 active reported cases and three people are in hospital with the disease, including two in intensive care.
New Brunswick is announcing it will ease public health restrictions across the province as of this Sunday because COVID-19 infections are on a steady trend downward.
The province’s chief medical officer of health, Dr. Jennifer Russell, says the decision to shift to the lower, yellow pandemic-alert level will be revisited if there is a spike in cases over the weekend.
As well, Russell is confirming that with the expected arrival of the first shipment of the two-dose Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine later this month, the province is pledging to provide one dose of COVID-19 vaccine to every New Brunswicker before the end of June.
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12:50 p.m.
A stay-at-home order will lift next week in Toronto, Peel Region and North Bay Parry Sound.
The three Ontario regions were the last ones still under the order, while most of the province transitioned back to the government’s colour-coded pandemic response framework last month.
Toronto and Peel will go into the strictest “grey lockdown” category of the framework, as recommended by public health officials in those regions.
The province says North Bay will be placed in the red zone, the second most restrictive level of pandemic measures.
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12:45 p.m.
There is one new case of COVID-19 in Newfoundland and Labrador.
The figures released today bring the total number of active cases in the province to 113.
Health Minister John Haggie said he was feeling optimistic and said the province is on track for a “new summer” where residents can travel around the island.
The province is inviting people who are asymptomatic to seek testing to see if there are any pockets of COVID-19 still undetected in the province.
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12:05 p.m.
Pfizer has told Canada it will speed up delivery of the shipments of its COVID-19 vaccine.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says 1.5 million additional doses are coming in March.
He says another one million doses will come ahead of schedule in both April and May.
Trudeau says that means there will be eight million doses of the Pfzier-BioNTech vaccine in Canada by the end of this month.
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11:55 a.m.
Nunavut is reporting four new cases of COVID-19 today for a total of 17.
All the new cases are in Arviat, the only community in Nunavut with active cases of COVID-19.
Despite the rise in cases, chief public health officer Dr. Michael Patterson says the outbreak in Arviat is contained.
Arviat has been under a strict lock down for 112 days, with all school and non-essential businesses closed and travel restricted.
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11:45 a.m.
Nunavut’s health minister says the territory is on track to receive 38,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine by mid-March, enough to vaccinate 75 per cent of the eligible population.
Lorne Kusugak says there will be at least one vaccination clinic in all of Nunavut’s 25 communities by the end of March.
Kusugak also announced a mass vaccination clinic will launch in Iqaluit on March 15.
Starting March 10, residents ages 18 years and up can call Iqaluit Public health to book an appointment.
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11:10 a.m.
Quebec is reporting 798 new cases of COVID-19 today and 10 more deaths linked to the virus.
Health officials say hospitalizations dropped by nine, to 617, and that 111 people were in intensive care, a drop of four.
The province says it administered more than 18,000 doses of vaccine, for at total of 510,479.
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10:40 a.m.
Ontario is reporting 1,250 new cases of COVID-19 in the province.
Health Minister Christine Elliott says that 337 of those new cases are in Toronto, 167 are in Peel Region, and 129 are in York Region.
The province also reports a single-day high of 35,886 doses of COVID-19 vaccine administered since Thursday’s update.
Ontario also reports 22 more deaths linked to the virus.
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10:35 a.m.
Nova Scotia is reporting two new cases of COVID-19 today.
Health officials say the new cases are in the health region that includes Halifax.
They say one case involves a close contact of a previously reported infection and the other is under investigation.
The province has 31 active reported cases of the disease.
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10:20 a.m.
The Manitoba government is now predicting it will be able to provide all eligible adults with a first dose of COVID-19 vaccines by the end of June.
Officials say it might even be as early as mid-May, depending on the flow of supplies.
The timeline has been moved up by months as more vaccines have been approved by the federal government.
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10 a.m.
Health Canada has approved the COVID-19 vaccine from Johnson and Johnson, saying it has the evidence showing the vaccine is both safe and effective against the novel coronavirus that causes the disease.
It is the fourth vaccine to be approved in Canada and the first and only one Canada has purchased that requires just a single dose.
Canada has pre-purchased 10 million doses, with options to buy another 28 million.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 5, 2021.
Montreal Alouettes wide receiver Tyson Philpot has announced he will be out for the rest of the CFL season.
The Delta, B.C., native posted the news on his Instagram page Thursday.
“To Be Continued. Shoutout my team, the fans of the CFL and the whole city of Montreal! I can’t wait to be back healthy and write this next chapter in 2025,” the statement read.
Philpot, 24, injured his foot in a 33-23 win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Aug. 10 and was placed on the six-game injured list the next week.
The six-foot-one, 195-pound receiver had 58 receptions, 779 yards and five touchdowns in nine games for the league-leading Alouettes in his third season.
Philpot scored the game-winning touchdown in Montreal’s Grey Cup win last season to punctuate a six-reception, 63-yard performance.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa sustained a concussion for the third time in his NFL career, leaving his team’s game Thursday night against Buffalo after running into defensive back Damar Hamlin and hitting the back of his head against the turf.
Tagovailoa remained down for about two minutes before getting to his feet and walking to the sideline after the play in the third quarter. He made his way to the tunnel not long afterward, looking into the stands before smiling and departing toward the locker room.
The Dolphins needed almost no time before announcing it was a concussion. The team said he had two during the 2022 season, and Tagovailoa was diagnosed with another concussion when he was a college player at Alabama.
Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said Tagovailoa would get “proper procedural evaluation” and “appropriate care” on Friday.
“The furthest thing from my mind is, ‘What is the timeline?’ We just need to evaluate and just worry about my teammate, like the rest of the guys are,” McDaniel said. “We’ll get more information tomorrow and take it day by day from here.”
Some players saw Tagovailoa in the locker room after the game and said they were encouraged. Tagovailoa spoke with some players and then went home after the game, McDaniel said.
“I have a lot of love for Tua, built a great relationship with him,” said quarterback Skylar Thompson, who replaced Tagovailoa after the injury. “You care about the person more than the player and everybody in the organization would say the same thing. Just really praying for Tua and hopefully everything will come out all right.”
Tagovailoa signed a four-year, $212 million extension before this season — a deal that makes him one of the highest-paid players in the NFL — and was the NFL’s leading passer in Week 1 this season. Tagovailoa left with the Dolphins trailing 31-10, and that was the final score.
“If you know Tua outside of football, you can’t help but feel for him,” Bills quarterback Josh Allen said on Amazon following the game. “He’s a great football player but he’s an even greater human being. He’s one of the best humans on the planet. I’ve got a lot of love for him and I’m just praying for him and his family, hoping everything’s OK. But it’s tough, man. This game of football that we play, it’s got its highs and it’s got its lows — and this is one of the lows.”
Tagovailoa’s college years and first three NFL seasons were marred by injury, though he positioned himself for a big pay bump with an injury-free and productive 2023 as he led the Dolphins into the playoffs. He threw for 29 touchdowns and a league-best 4,624 yards last year.
When, or if, he can come back this season is anyone’s guess. Tagovailoa said in April 2023 that the concussions he had in the 2022 season left him contemplating his playing future. “I think I considered it for a time,” he said then, when asked if he considered stepping away from the game to protect himself.
McDaniel said it’s not his place to say if Tagovailoa should return to football. “He’ll be evaluated and we’ll have conversations and progress as appropriate,” McDaniel said.
Tagovailoa was hurt Thursday on a fourth-down keeper with about 4:30 left in the third. He went straight ahead into Hamlin and did not slide, leading with his right shoulder instead.
Hamlin was the player who suffered a cardiac arrest after making a tackle during a Monday night game in January 2023 at Cincinnati, causing the NFL to suspend a pivotal game that quickly lost significance in the aftermath of a scary scene that unfolded in front of a national television audience.
Tagovailoa wound up on his back, both his hands in the air and Bills players immediately pointed at him as if to suggest there was an injury. Dolphins center Aaron Brewer quickly did the same, waving to the sideline.
Tagovailoa appeared to be making a fist with his right hand as he lay on the ground. It was movement consistent with something that is referred to as the “fencing response,” which can be common after a traumatic brain injury.
Tagovailoa eventually got to his feet. McDaniel grabbed the side of his quarterback’s head and gave him a kiss on the cheek as Tagovailoa departed. Thompson came into the game to take Tagovailoa’s spot.
“I love Tua on and off the football field,” Bills edge Von Miller said. “I’m a huge fan of him. I can empathize and sympathize with him because I’ve been there. I wish him the best.”
Tagovailoa’s history with concussions — and how he has since worked to avoid them — is a huge part of the story of his career, and now comes to the forefront once again.
He had at least two concussions during the 2022 season. He was hurt in a Week 3 game against Buffalo and cleared concussion protocol, though he appeared disoriented on that play but returned to the game.
The NFL later changed its concussion protocol to mandate that if a player shows possible concussion symptoms — including a lack of balance or stability — he must sit out the rest of the game.
Less than a week later, in a Thursday night game at Cincinnati, Tagovailoa was concussed on a scary hit that briefly knocked him unconscious and led to him being taken off the field on a stretcher.
His second known concussion of that season came in a December game against Green Bay, and he didn’t play for the rest of the 2022 season. After that, Tagovailoa began studying ways where he may be able to fall more safely and protect himself against further injury — including studying jiu-jitsu.
“I’m not worried about anything that’s out of my hands,” McDaniel said. “I’m just worried about the human being.”
NEW YORK (AP) — When her husband turns on the television to hear news about the upcoming presidential election, that’s often a signal for Lori Johnson Malveaux to leave the room.
It can get to be too much. Often, she’ll go to a TV in another room to watch a movie on the Hallmark Channel or BET. She craves something comforting and entertaining. And in that, she has company.
While about half of Americans say they are following political news “extremely” or “very” closely, about 6 in 10 say they need to limit how much information they consume about the government and politics to avoid feeling overloaded or fatigued, according to a new survey from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and USAFacts.
Make no mistake: Malveaux plans to vote. She always does. “I just get to the point where I don’t want to hear the rhetoric,” she said.
The 54-year-old Democrat said she’s most bothered when she hears people on the news telling her that something she saw with her own eyes — like the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol — didn’t really happen.
“I feel like I’m being gaslit. That’s the way to put it,” she said.
Sometimes it feels like ‘a bombardment’
Caleb Pack, 23, a Republican from Ardmore, Oklahoma, who works in IT, tries to keep informed through the news feeds on his phone, which is stocked with a variety of sources, including CNN, Fox News, The Wall Street Journal and The Associated Press.
Yet sometimes, Pack says, it seems like a bombardment.
“It’s good to know what’s going on, but both sides are pulling a little bit extreme,” he said. “It just feels like it’s a conversation piece everywhere, and it’s hard to escape it.”
Media fatigue isn’t a new phenomenon. A Pew Research Center survey conducted in late 2019 found roughly two in three Americans felt worn out by the amount of news there is, about the same as in a poll taken in early 2018. During the 2016 presidential campaign, about 6 in 10 people felt overloaded by campaign news.
But it can be particularly acute with news related to politics. The AP-NORC/USAFacts poll found that half of Americans feel a need to limit their consumption of information related to crime or overseas conflicts, while only about 4 in 10 are limiting news about the economy and jobs.
It’s easy to understand, with television outlets like CNN, Fox News Channel and MSNBC full of political talk and a wide array of political news online, sometimes complicated by disinformation.
“There’s a glut of information,” said Richard Coffin, director of research and advocacy for USAFacts, “and people are having a hard time figuring out what is true or not.”
Women are more likely to feel they need to limit media
In the AP-NORC poll, about 6 in 10 men said they follow news about elections and politics at least “very” closely, compared to about half of women. For all types of news, not just politics, women are more likely than men to report the need to limit their media consumption, the survey found.
White adults are also more likely than Black or Hispanic adults to say they need to limit media consumption on politics, the poll found.
Kaleb Aravzo, 19, a Democrat, gets a baseline of news by listening to National Public Radio in the morning at home in Logan, Utah. Too much politics, particularly when he’s on social media sites like TikTok and Instagram, can trigger anxiety and depression.
“If it pops up on my page when I’m on social media,” he said, “I’ll just scroll past it.”
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Sanders reported from Washington. David Bauder writes about media for the AP. Follow him at http://x.com/dbauder.
The AP poll of 1,019 adults was conducted July 29-August 8, 2024, using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 4.0 percentage points.
