The latest news on COVID-19 developments in Canada

The latest news on COVID-19 developments in Canada (all times Eastern):

7:30 p.m.

Health officials in B.C. are reporting new outbreaks at three long-term care facilities and 167 more new cases of COVID-19.

A statement from provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says another person has died, for a total of 254 deaths.

There have been 11,854 cases diagnosed in the province, while 9,871 people who tested positive are considered recovered.

Henry says the efforts made by B.C. residents to contain COVID-19 are making a difference to help slow its spread.

—

4:45 p.m.

Chief of the defence staff Gen. Jonathan Vance has ordered Canadian troops to keep up their guard against COVID-19 while painting a gloomy picture of how the pandemic could affect the military and country.

The order is contained in a new directive from Vance and Defence Department deputy minister Jody Thomas in which they describe complacency around physical distancing, mask wearing and other public-health measures as the greatest threat to the military when it comes to COVID-19.

At the same time, they suggest the pandemic will get worse before it gets better, with expectations it could last 12 months or longer and result in more infections among military personnel along with continued shortages of medical equipment across the country.

—

1:35 p.m.

Manitoba is reporting 109 new COVID-19 cases, with 88 of them in Winnipeg. 

Health officials are also reporting outbreaks at one school and three long-term care homes in the city. 

The greater Winnipeg region has been under stricter health orders, including mandatory mask use in public indoor areas, after numbers started climbing last month.

—

12:15 p.m.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says his children are not going trick-or-treating for Halloween this year.

He says this is because Ottawa, where he and his family live, is considered a COVID-19 hot spot and local public health officials have advised against children going door-to-door this year.

He says his children might take part in a hunt for candy around the house instead.

Trudeau says he understands how frustrating the pandemic is for parents and children but stressed it is important to listen to the guidance of local public health officials.

Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s chief public health officer, has said that trick-or-treating can be done safely, but Canadians should follow the advice of local public health officials because the spread of the novel coronavirus is different across the country.

—

11:55 a.m.

Canada’s chief public health officer says there have been 201,437 cases of COVID-19 in Canada reported as of Monday evening.

Dr. Theresa Tam says there have been 9,778 deaths from the illness.

She says Canadians needs to keep making a collective effort to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus.

She says this includes keeping a limited number of contacts, downloading the COVID-19 Alert app and making sure to spread accurate information about the illness on social media.

—

11:40 a.m.

Small Business Minister Mary Ng says Ottawa is committing $12 million to a fund to help small business owners respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The money is to be made available through the Canada United Small Business Resilience Fund.

It will help small business owners buy personal protective equipment, renovate their spaces to respond to local public health measures and boost their ability to sell things online.

Ng also encouraged everyone to download the COVID-19 Alert app to help them learn if they have been exposed to the novel coronavirus.

Ng says she took a COVID-19 test and received a negative result after being notified of an exposure through the app.

—

11:35 a.m.

Quebec is reporting 877 new cases of COVID-19 and 12 more deaths attributed to the novel coronavirus.

Health officials are also reporting a jump in hospitalizations of 33, for a total of 565, with 100 people in intensive care, a rise of eight.

The province said today five people died of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours while seven deaths occurred between Oct. 13 and 18.

Quebec has reported a total of 95,216 cases of COVID-19 and 6,055 deaths attributed to the virus since the start of the pandemic.

Authorities say one death previously attributed to COVID-19 was unrelated while 90 cases had been incorrectly labelled as positive.

—

11:05 a.m.

Ontario is reporting 821 new cases of COVID-19 today, and three new deaths due to the virus.

Health Minister Christine Elliott says 327 cases are in Toronto, 136 in Peel Region, 79 in Ottawa, and 64 in York Region.

The province says it has a backlog of 24,129 tests, and has conducted 24,049 tests since the last daily report.

In total, 274 people are hospitalized in Ontario due to COVID-19.

—

11 a.m.

Prince Edward Island is reporting one new case of COVID-19.

Dr. Heather Morrison, the chief public health officer, says the case involves a woman in her 20s who is a rotational worker and who travelled outside of the Atlantic bubble.

There are currently three active cases on the Island.

Since the pandemic began, P.E.I. has seen a total of 64 cases and all have been travel related.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 20, 2020.

The Canadian Press