The latest developments on COVID-19 in Canada

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

—

7 p.m.

British Columbia announced 161 new cases of COVID-19 today and three additional deaths related to the virus.

In a statement, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and deputy health minister Stephen Brown say there are 1,302 active cases in the province.

Sixty-three people are being treated in hospital, with 16 of them in intensive care.

The province has had a total of 9,381 cases of COVID-19 since the pandemic began.

—

4:32 p.m.

The Manitoba government has released guidelines for Halloween in the COVID-19 era.

The government says people need to maintain physical distancing, even when handing out treats.

People are being told to use items such as tongs to distribute candy at the door.

And bobbing for apples, where people might exchange droplets, is to be avoided.

—

2:04 p.m.

Manitoba is reporting another COVID-19 death, bringing the total to 21.

Health officials say the death is of a man in his 70s connected to the Parkview Place care home in Winnipeg.

The province is also reporting 43 new cases, 29 of which are in Winnipeg.

—

1:11 p.m.

Nunavut’s chief public health officer says there is another presumptive case of COVID-19 at the Hope Bay gold mine in western Nunavut, bringing the total to eight possible cases.

Dr. Michael Patterson says five more swabs were flown from the mine to Rankin Inlet for testing last night, and one appears to be positive.

Another eight swabs from the mine are to be sent out on Saturday.

No Nunavut residents work at the mine.

Patterson says it appears the cases originated in the territory, but he is still deciding if they will count as Nunavut’s first cases.

The presumptive cases still have to be confirmed in a southern lab.

—

1 p.m.

Ontario is introducing a slate of new restrictions in a bid to curb a surge in COVID-19 cases.

The province is making COVID-19 testing available by appointment only, making masks mandatory in public indoor spaces across the province and tightening restrictions on businesses in virus hot spots.

The province reported a record 732 cases today, and for weeks, the majority of new cases have been reported in Toronto, neighbouring Peel Region and Ottawa.

Starting Saturday, restaurants, bars, gyms and banquet halls in those areas will face tighter restrictions to help curb the spread of COVID-19 — with no more than 100 customers allowed in restaurants and no more than six people permitted at a table.

—

12:45 p.m.

The Manitoba government says the federal government is blocking access to new rapid COVID-19 testing devices.

Central Services Minister Reg Helwer says Ottawa is forbidding Abbott Laboratories from selling its new ID Now tests directly to the provinces.

He says the federal government is insisting on controlling the supply and allocating shipments to the provinces.

Health Canada recently approved the ID Now tests, which deliver results in about 15 minutes without having to send the specimen to a lab for processing.

—

12:18 p.m.

Health officials in Nova Scotia are reporting one new case of COVID-19.

It involves a person who travelled outside Atlantic Canada and was diagnosed while in isolation in Nova Scotia.

As of today, Nova Scotia has three active cases of COVID-19, one of which involves a person receiving treatment in an intensive care unit.

The province has recorded 1,089 positive COVID-19 cases, which include 65 deaths.

—

11:27 a.m.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia will soon start using the federal government’s COVID Alert app.

The smartphone program tells users whether they’ve recently been close to someone who’s tested positive for COVID-19 and volunteered that information through their own version of the app.

Ontario was the first province to sign up and was followed by Manitoba, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador.

The federal government is working on expanding coverage to the remaining provinces.

—

10:45 a.m.

Ontario has surpassed its previous daily high for new cases of COVID-19.

Health Minister Christine Elliott says there are 732 new cases in the province today, topping Monday’s total of 700.

The province is reporting two new deaths related to the virus in the past 24 hours.

Elliott says 74 additional deaths from the spring and summer are also being added to the province’s numbers after a data review at Toronto Public Health.

—

9:15 a.m.

Health Canada says it’s begun its first review of a possible vaccine for COVID-19.

The agency says it’s evaluating the vaccine candidate being worked on by pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford.

The possible vaccine is undergoing what’s called a “rolling review,” in which Health Canada accepts data and results from the company’s trials as it comes in, rather than waiting for everything to be complete.

Health Canada cautions that starting a rolling review is just one step on the road to approval.

The federal government has put in an advance order for 20 million doses of this vaccine candidate, if it proves safe and effective.

—

8:40 a.m.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is offering his family’s best wishes to U.S. President Donald Trump and the first lady.

Trudeau says he and his wife, Sophie Gregoire Trudeau, hope the president and Melania Trump recover fully from COVID-19.

Trump announced early this morning that both he and his wife have tested positive for the coronavirus.

Gregoire Trudeau tested positive for COVID-19 in March after returning from a trip to England.

She recovered within weeks, and the prime minister never contracted the virus.

—

The Canadian Press