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.
SAINT PAUL, Minn. – Joel Eriksson Ek scored two goals and added three assists as the Minnesota Wild grounded the Winnipeg Jets 8-5 in NHL pre-season action on Friday.
Kirikk Kaprizov had two power-play goals for the Wild, who scored seven goals in the second period to break open a tight game.
Ben Jones, Mats Zuccarello, Liam Ohgren and Marat Khusnutdinov also scored for the Wild who got a 36-save performance from netminder Marc-Andre Fleury. Thirteen players had at least one point for the Wild in the lopsided win.
Cole Perfetti, Mason Appleton, Nikita Chibrikov, Brayden Yager and Morgan Barron scored for the Jets, who had two power-play goals.
The teams were tied 1-1 after the first period and the Wild took an 8-2 lead into the final frame.
Connor Hellebuyck allowed eight goals in two periods of play, stopping 21 of 29 shots. Thomas Milic stopped all six shots he faced in the final period.
UP NEXT
Jets: Host the Calgary Flames on Wednesday.
Wild: Host the Dallas Stars on Sunday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 27, 2024.
WINNIPEG – Zach Collaros threw a career-high six touchdown passes to ignite the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in a 55-27 victory over the Edmonton Elks that extended their win streak to seven games and clinched a playoff spot for the eighth consecutive season.
Winnipeg’s first four series of the game resulted in TD catches by Nic Demski, Keric Wheatfall and Brady Oliveira, plus a field goal by Sergio Castillo.
The explosion of points had the team’s third straight sellout crowd of 32,243 at Princess Auto Stadium cheering wildly as the CFL West Division-leading Blue Bombers improved to 9-6.
The Elks dropped to 5-10 and have a flicker of a chance to still make the CFL playoffs.
Collaros completed 21 of 26 pass attempts for a season-high 432 yards with the six touchdowns and no interceptions. His career best for passing in a game is 439 yards.
Edmonton quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson, who got the start ahead of Tre Ford, had a tough night against Winnipeg’s stifling defence. He was 19-of-34 passing for 223 yards with three TDs and no picks.
Winnipeg led 17-0 after the first quarter, 34-6 at halftime and 41-20 heading into the fourth.
Demski had a pair of TD receptions for 40 and 11 yards, while Kenny Lawler added two majors with catches of six and seven yards.
Lawler finished with a game high of 130 yards off eight catches and Demski had four receptions for 117 yards.
Wheatfall took a pass and turned it into a 61-yard major and Oliveira grabbed a short toss and deked and dashed 33 yards into the end zone.
Winnipeg defensive end TyJuan Garbutt scooped up a fumbled Edmonton pass attempt and ran 62 yards for a TD.
Castillo connected on field goals from 39 and 33 yards and made seven converts.
Edmonton kicker Boris Bede booted an 18-yard field goal at 10:10 of the second quarter to get the visitors on the board. He added a 24-yarder as time expired on the first half and made three converts.
Eugene Lewis, Tevin Jones and Dillon Mitchell each had TD catches for the Elks.
Edmonton’s fortunes turned early.
On Winnipeg’s first series of the game, Lawler fumbled a catch the Elks recovered but a review deemed Lawler had been down by contact.
Three plays later, Collaros fired the ball to Demski in the end zone at 3:04 and Castillo hit the convert to begin spinning the numbers on the scoreboard.
Edmonton’s first four possessions ended with three punts and a turnover on downs.
Collaros used the turnover for a TD pass to Wheatfall and 17-0 lead at 12:49 of the first quarter.
At that point in the game, Bethel-Thompson had completed one of three passes for nine yards. Collaros was 6-of-7 for 143 yards.
Oliveira made his run to the end zone at 1:09 of the second quarter, followed by Garbutt’s fumble-recovery TD at 6:45 to make it 31-0.
Three field goals ended the first half.
Lewis, Lawler and Jones provided three touchdowns for the third-quarter scoring that cut Winnipeg’s lead to 41-20.
Demski added his second TD of the game 23 seconds into the fourth, followed by Lawler’s stretching grab in the end zone at 7:06 to boost the lead 55-20.
Mitchell recorded his 37-yard TD catch as time expired.
UP NEXT
Elks: Host the Saskatchewan Roughriders on Saturday, Oct. 5.
Blue Bombers: Visit the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Friday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 27, 2024.
TORONTO – Xavier Edwards made franchise history on Friday by becoming the first Miami Marlins player to record three triples in a single game. His achievement helped the Marlins crush the fading Toronto Blue Jays 15-5 at Rogers Centre.
Edwards emerged as Miami’s hero early in this contest, smacking his first triple in the second inning and finishing the contest 3-for-5 with four RBIs. In addition to setting a franchise record, the 25-year-old became the first Major League Baseball player with three triples in a single game since 2014.
“It’s definitely cool to get an opportunity to run at full speed and get to open it up,” Edwards said of his impressive evening.
The Marlins (60-100) broke through early, plating three runs in the first inning off Jays’ starter Jose Berríos. Miami built some heavy momentum and never slowed down, recording 17 hits.
Jonah Bride was also an integral part of the Marlins victory. The Marlins infielder hit two homers, his 10th and 11th of the season, and drove in three RBIs to secure Miami’s lead.
The Blue Jays (74-86) came up short in their 12-hit effort, which included Ernie Clement’s solo homer in the fourth inning, his 12th of the season. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. added two singles and an RBI, bringing him one hit shy of 200 on the season, while Alejandro Kirk extended his hitting streak to 18 games.
“We didn’t pitch well at all,” said Blue Jays manager John Schneider. “I think effort and compete — that was there. (We’ll) move on to tomorrow.”
Berríos (16-11) took the loss, allowing six earned runs on six hits in just three innings of work, marking his shortest start of the season. The right-hander also struck out four batters and yielded three walks.
“Frustrating that that’s his last outing for the year,” said Schneider, summarizing Berríos’ season. “But I think, looking at his overall body of work, he should be really proud of the things that he did on and off the field.”
The Marlins quickly extended their lead in the second inning as Otto Lopez singled, Kyle Stowers walked, and Nick Fortes advanced the runners with a sacrifice bunt. Edwards capped off the Marlins rally with a two-run triple off Berríos.
The Blue Jays responded against Marlins starter Adam Oller (2-4) in the bottom of the third, as Nathan Lukes doubled off the right-field wall, scoring Leo Jiménez from second. Spencer Horwitz singled up the middle, driving in George Springer and Lukes two batters later.
Oller earned the win for the Marlins, pitching five innings and allowing four earned runs on eight hits while striking out three.
The Marlins poured it on with five runs in the seventh inning. Griffin Conine homered, Edwards picked up his third triple of the night, and Jake Burger, after driving in a run earlier, doubled for his team-leading 76th RBI of the season.
The Rogers Centre roof opened an hour before first pitch, revealing cloudy skies. Announced attendance was 31,597, and the game lasted three hours, seven minutes.
SCHUMAKER LEAVES THE TEAM
Midway through Friday’s game, the Marlins announced manager Skip Schumaker would miss the remaining two games of the season due to a family medical issue. Bench coach Luis Urueta will manage in Schumaker’s place.
MARLINS MAKE A MOVE
Before the game, Miami placed reliever Declan Cronin (3-4) on the 15-day injured list with left knee patellar tendinitis and activated right-hander Mike Baumann (3-1) from the paternity list.
ROTATION SHUFFLE
Blue Jays starter Chris Bassitt (10-14) will not pitch in Sunday’s series finale against the Marlins, Schneider announced Friday. With the Jays eliminated from playoff contention, the Jays skipper said he prefers to rest Bassitt and let other pitchers see some action.
UP COMING
The Blue Jays send right-hander Yariel Rodríguez (1-7) to the hill for the second leg of this three-game series on Saturday. The Marlins have not yet announced a starting pitcher for Saturday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 27, 2024.
