The latest news on COVID-19 developments in Canada for Wednesday, Jan. 27

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

6:20 p.m.

There are several new COVID-19 “hot spots” in British Columbia and health officials say it shows how easily the virus can spread.

There’s a new outbreak at the Fraser Regional Correctional Centre in Maple Ridge, where nine inmates and two staff members have tested positive.

A joint statement from Health Minister Adrian Dix and provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says there are also COVID clusters in the communities of Fernie and Williams Lake.

B.C. reports 485 new cases of COVID-19 and four more deaths, while it says 124,365 doses of vaccine have been administered.

—

5:40 p.m.

Alberta is reporting 459 new cases of COVID-19.

The province is also announcing 12 additional deaths due to the virus.

Dr. Deena Hinshaw, the province’s chief medical health officer, says case numbers are declining, along with hospitalizations.

There are currently 604 people with COVID-19 in hospital, and 110 of those are in intensive care.

—

5:10 p.m.

Health officials say there are no active COVID-19 cases in Yukon.

There have been 70 cases since the start of the pandemic in the territory, of which 69 have recovered and one person has died.

Some 5,170 doses of the Moderna vaccine have been administered.

In rural and remote areas, residents 18 and older can receive a vaccine, while in larger communities including Whitehorse, people 65 and over are being immunized.

People 60 and over can book appointments starting Feb. 1, and everyone 18 and over can receive a shot as of Feb. 10.

—

3:35 p.m.

Saskatchewan health officials are reporting 149 new cases of COVID-19.

Six more residents have died and there are 220 people in hospital, with 36 patients in intensive care.

The province says 2,176 COVID-19 tests were processed Tuesday.

To date, 34,615 vaccine doses have been administered.

Premier Scott Moe says the province is almost out of vaccine and needs more supply to pick up the pace.

—

2:55 p.m.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen assured him today that new export requirements on COVID-19 vaccines won’t affect shipments of Canada’s vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna.

Trudeau said in question period today that he spoke to von der Leyen by phone earlier in the day. 

On Tuesday, von der Leyen said they were enacting an export transparency mechanism to ensure European countries were made aware of how many doses of vaccines made in Europe were being exported, as the continent is not getting as many doses of vaccines as it had expected.

—

2:45 p.m.

Public health officials in Newfoundland and Labrador are reporting two new cases of COVID-19 today.

The first case involves a male in the Eastern health region between 20 and 39 years old and is related to international travel.

The second case is also a male in the Eastern region, though the source of the infection is still under investigation.

Newfoundland and Labrador now has five active cases of the disease.

—

2:25 p.m.

New Brunswick is reporting two more deaths attributed to the novel coronavirus and 14 new COVID-19 infections today.

Health officials say the deaths involved two people in their 70s: one in the Edmundston region and another in the Saint John area who was identified as a resident of Lily Court, part of the Parkland Saint John Tucker Hall facility.

The province says 24 more people have recovered from the virus and six people are in hospital with the disease, including two in intensive care.

New Brunswick has 327 active reported cases.

—

2 p.m.

Nova Scotia is reporting four new cases of COVID-19 and a total of 12 active cases.

Health officials say two of the cases are in the Halifax area and two are in the province’s eastern health zone.

All are close contacts of previously reported cases.

As of Tuesday, 12,286 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered, with 2,709 people having received the second of their two doses.

—

1:35 p.m.

Manitoba is reporting 94 additional COVID-19 cases and four deaths. 

The percentage of people testing positive continues to drop. 

The Manitoba government recently relaxed some of its restrictions on social gatherings and store openings.

—

12:48 p.m.

Ontario’s labour minister says the province is ramping up COVID-19 safety inspections on farms ahead of the new growing season.

Monte McNaughton says hundreds of inspectors will visit farms to ensure COVID-19 safety measures are being followed to protect temporary foreign workers arriving in the coming weeks.

The province says there were approximately 20,500 temporary foreign workers in Ontario last year and most resided in communal living quarters on farms. 

McNaughton says inspections of these living quarters is the duty of the federal government.

—

12:30 p.m.

Manitoba health officials say they plan to start having COVID-19 vaccines available for the general population, starting with the elderly, in March. 

Dr. Joss Reimer, a member of the province’s vaccine task force, says the province plans to offer vaccines to a broader range of health care workers and all Manitobans over 95 in March.

The age minimum will be reduced quickly by one-year increments, and people in their ’50s could be eligible by April or May.

—

11:20 a.m.

Quebec is reporting 1,328 new cases of COVID-19 and 53 more deaths attributed to the novel coronavirus, including 16 within the past 24 hours.

Health officials say hospitalizations dropped by 34, to 1,290 and 221 people were in intensive care, a rise of four.

The province says 4,340 doses of vaccine were administered yesterday, for a total of 229,219.

Quebec has reported a total of 257,330 COVID-19 cases and 9,630 deaths linked to the virus.

—

10:45 a.m.

Ontario’s new daily case count of COVID-19 is the lowest it’s been in seven weeks.

The province is reporting 1,670 new cases of the virus today and 49 more deaths related to the disease.

Health Minister Christine Elliott says that 450 of those new cases are in Toronto, 342 are in Peel Region, and 171 are in York Region.

—

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 27, 2021.

The Canadian Press