OTTAWA — The latest news on COVID-19 developments in Canada (all times eastern):
3:25 p.m.
Health officials in Saskatchewan say there are another 169 new cases of COVID-19 and two more deaths.
There are 146 people in hospital, with 20 people in intensive care.
The province says its seven-day average of new daily cases sits at 148.
National data shows Saskatchewan leads the country with the highest rate of active cases per capita.
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3:15 p.m.
Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe says his province will be delaying the second dose of vaccines to speed up immunizations against COVID-19.
He says people will get their second shot four months after the first, which falls in line with a recommendation from Canada’s national immunization committee.
Saskatchewan health officials are expected to speak at a COVID-19 briefing this afternoon.
Earlier in the week, Moe said delaying the second doses for up to four months would mean every adult in the province could be immunized at least once by June.
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2:35 p.m.
New Brunswick is reporting five new cases of COVID-19 today.
Health officials say three new cases are in the Edmundston region, and that the Moncton and Miramichi regions each have one new case.
There are 36 active known infections in the province and three patients are hospitalized with the disease, including two in intensive care.
A recently reported presumptive case of a variant in the Miramichi region has been confirmed by Winnipeg’s National Microbiology Laboratory as the B.1.1.7 mutation.
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1:45 p.m.
Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines will be distributed in some Ontario pharmacies starting next week.
Health Minister Christine Elliott says most doses of that vaccine will go to pharmacies in a pilot project.
The Ontario Pharmacists Association’s CEO says the pilot will begin at 380 sites in Toronto, Kingston and Windsor-Essex.
Ontario has said it will prioritize people between the ages of 60 and 64 for the AstraZeneca doses.
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1:35 p.m.
Manitoba is reporting 51 news COVID-19 cases and two deaths.
Northern regions continue to be hardest hit.
High case numbers in Mathias Colomb Cree Nation have prompted the chief and council to ban public gatherings and require people to stay home except for shopping, medical care and work in essential services.
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1:30 p.m.
Alberta’s Opposition NDP is calling for an immediate public inquiry into the COVID-19 outbreak at the Olymel pork processing plant in Red Deer.
It also wants today’s planned reopening of the plant put on hold.
The plant was shut down in mid-February, after an outbreak that has caused three deaths and infected more than 500 employees.
The company says Alberta Health has given it a green light to start a gradual reopening with slaughter operations today.
Cutting room operations can resume tomorrow.
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1 p.m.
Newfoundland and Labrador is reporting five new COVID-19 cases today.
Health officials say four new cases are in the eastern health region, which includes St. John’s, involving people between the ages of 40 and 69. Three involve close contacts of prior cases while the fourth is related to domestic travel.
The fifth case is located in the western health region, involves a person between the ages of 20 and 39 and is related to international travel.
Eight people are in hospital with the disease, including two in intensive care.
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12:45 p.m.
Nunavut is reporting 10 new cases of COVID-19 today.
All the new cases are in Arviat, a community of about 2,800 and the only place in Nunavut with active cases.
Arviat has been under a strict lockdown since November, with all schools and non-essential businesses closed.
The community’s hamlet council also ordered a nightly curfew from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. to curb the spread.
Chief public health officer Dr. Michael Patterson says contact tracing is ongoing in the community.
There are 14 active cases of COVID-19 in Nunavut, all in Arviat.
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12:30 p.m.
Health Canada says a decision on the Johnson & Johnson vaccine will be announced in the “next few days.”
The word came today from Dr. Marc Berthiaume, director of the regulator’s bureau of medical sciences.
Once approved, the J&J product would become the fourth vaccine available for use in Canada. It was approved last weekend in the United States.
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12:15 p.m.
Canada’s deputy chief public health officer Dr. Howard Njoo says nearly 400,000 people were vaccinated in Canada in the last seven days.
He says that’s the most in a single week since immunizations began on Dec. 14.
Njoo says more than two million doses have been administered now, with about four per cent of Canadians getting one dose and almost 1.5 per cent now vaccinated with two doses.
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12:05 p.m.
Nova Scotia is lifting some of the restrictions in place in Halifax and surrounding communities as COVID-19 cases decline in the region.
Officials say rules that came into effect on Feb. 27 limiting restaurant hours, prohibiting sports events and discouraging non-essential travel in and out of the area will end on Friday at 8 a.m.
Rules for residents of long-term care homes remain unchanged, but those living in care facilities may only have visits from their two designated caregivers.
Officials say the restrictions for long-term care residents will remain in place in the Halifax Regional Municipality and neighbouring areas until March 27.
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11:15 a.m.
Quebec is reporting 707 new cases of COVID-19 and 20 more deaths attributed to the novel coronavirus, including four in the past 24 hours.
Health officials say hospitalizations rose by eight, to 626, and 115 people were in intensive care, a drop of five.
The province says it administered 16,619 doses of vaccine yesterday, for a total of 490,504.
Quebec has reported a total of 290,377 COVID-19 infections and 10,445 deaths linked to the virus.
It has 7,379 active reported cases.
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10:50 a.m.
Nova Scotia is reporting three new cases of COVID-19.
Health officials say all three cases were identified in the health region that includes Halifax.
Two cases involve contacts of previously reported infections while the third is under investigation.
Nova Scotia has 29 active reported cases of COVID-19.
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10:40 a.m.
Ontario is reporting 994 new cases of COVID-19.
Health Minister Christine Elliott says that 298 of those new cases are in Toronto, 171 are in Peel and 64 are in York Region.
There were 10 more deaths in Ontario since the last daily update and more than 30,000 doses of a COVID-19 vaccine administered.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 4, 2021.
LONGUEUIL, Que. – People in a part of Longueuil, Que., were being asked to stay indoors with their doors and windows closed on Thursday morning after a train derailed, spilling an unknown quantity of hydrogen peroxide.
Police from the city just east of Montreal said it didn’t appear anyone was hurt, although a CN rail official told a news conference that three employees had been taken to hospital as a precautionary measure.
The derailment happened at around 9 a.m. in the LeMoyne area, near the intersection of St-Louis and St-Georges streets. Mathieu Gaudreault, a spokesman for CN rail, said about eight cars derailed at the Southwark rail facility, including four that toppled over.
“As of this morning, the information we have is it’s hydrogen peroxide that was in the rail car and created the fumes we saw,” he said, adding that there was no risk of fire.
François Boucher, a spokesman for the Longueuil police department, said police were asking people in the area, including students at nearby schools, to stay indoors while experts ensure the air is safe to breathe.
“It is as a preventive measure that we encourage people to really avoid exposing themselves unnecessarily,” he told reporters near the scene.
Police and fire officials were on site, as well as CN railworkers, and a large security perimeter was erected.
Officers were asking people to avoid the sector, and the normally busy Highway 116 was closed in the area. The confinement notice includes everyone within 800 metres of the derailment, officials said, who added that it would be lifted once a team with expertise in dangerous materials has given the green light.
In addition to closing doors and windows, people in the area covered by the notice are asked to close heating, ventilation and air exchange systems, and to stay as far from windows as possible.
Gaudreault said it wasn’t yet clear what caused the derailment. The possibilities include a problem with the track, a problem with a manoeuvre, or a mechanical issue, he said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 14, 2024.
HALIFAX – Nova Scotia’s Liberal party is promising to improve cellphone service and invest in major highways if the party is elected to govern on Nov. 26.
Party leader Zach Churchill says a Liberal government would spend $60 million on building 87 new cellphone towers, which would be in addition to the $66 million the previous Progressive Conservative government committed to similar projects last year.
As well, Churchill confirmed the Liberals want to improve the province’s controlled access highways by adding exits along Highway 104 across the top of the mainland, and building a bypass along Highway 101 near Digby.
Churchill says the Liberals would add $40 million to the province’s $500 million capital budget for highways.
Meanwhile, the leaders of the three major political parties were expected to spend much of today preparing for a televised debate that will be broadcast tonight at 6 p.m. local time.
Churchill will face off against Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Houston and NDP Leader Claudia Chender during a 90-minute debate that will be carried live on CBC TV and streamed online.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 14, 2024.
TORONTO – A group of hotel service workers in Toronto is set to hold a rally today outside the Fairmont Royal York to demand salary increases as hotel costs in the city skyrocket during Taylor Swift’s concerts.
Unite Here Local 75, the union representing 8,000 hospitality workers in the Greater Toronto Area, says Royal York employees have not seen a salary increase since 2021, and have been negotiating a new contract with the hotel since 2022.
The rally comes as the megastar begins her series of six sold-out concerts in Toronto, with the last show scheduled for Nov. 23.
During show weekends, some hotel rooms and short-term rentals in Toronto are priced up to 10 times more than other weekends, with some advertised for as much as $2,000 per night.
The union says hotel workers who will be serving Swifties during her Toronto stops are bargaining for raises to keep up with the rising cost of living.
The union represents hospitality workers including food service employees, room attendants and bell persons.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 14, 2024.
