The latest news on COVID-19 developments in Canada

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

8:15 p.m.

Yukon says it has three new cases of COVID-19 with all the infections in Watson Lake.

Chief medical health officer Dr. Brendan Hanley says this is the fourth incidence of infection in a rural community.

The cases bring the territory’s total number of infections to 20 people.

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7:15 p.m.

B.C. is reporting 223 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, tipping the number of active infections over 2,000.

Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says in a statement contact tracing teams throughout B.C. are working around the clock.

But she says their success depends on everyone doing their part and taking a step back from social interactions.

There have been two new community outbreaks, one at a hot tub and spa manufacturing company and one at a food processing business in Langley.

Seventy-five people are in hospital, including 24 in intensive care, but no one else has died from the illness since the province’s last update.

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2 p.m.

Quebec’s deputy premier has a dire warning for those living in the provincial capital and the neighbouring Chaudiere-Appalaches region amid a rising number of cases of COVID-19.

Genevieve Guilbault says people haven’t been following public health guidelines, resulting in a spike of cases in the two regions that could threaten the ability to provide medical treatment if it’s not brought under control.

Both regions were largely spared during the first wave, but Guilbault says in Chaudiere-Appalaches, there have been four times more cases and five times more deaths this time.

The Quebec City region holds the dubious distinction of having the highest number of active cases per 100,000 population in the province.

Guilbault was joined by the mayors of Levis and Quebec City, urging the population to limit their contacts and follow public health guidelines.

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1:50 p.m.

A man in his 80s is the latest death linked to the deadliest COVID-19 outbreak in a Manitoba care home.

There has been a total of 15 deaths at the Parkview Place care home in Winnipeg.

There were 163 new infections Friday, the vast majority in the capital city.

Winnipeg went weeks without any new infections over the summer, but case numbers have risen rapidly in the last two months.

A total of 33 cases have now also been connected to a poultry plant in Blumenort, southeast of Winnipeg, and the company says one employee has died.

Quebec-based company Exceldor, which owns the plant, says an investigation is ongoing to see whether the death of the 42-year-old man is related to his COVID-19 infection.

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1:15 p.m.

Newfoundland and Labrador is asking passengers who travelled on Air Canada Flight 7484 from Toronto to Deer Lake on Oct. 12 to call 811 to arrange for a test.

Health officials say the request for testing is being made out of an abundance of caution.

The request stems from a new case of COVID-19 announced Thursday affecting a man between 20 and 39 years old who returned to the province from work in Alberta.

On Thursday, officials said the man was self-isolating and contact tracing was still underway.

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1:05 p.m.

New Brunswick is reporting two new cases of COVID-19.

Both are in the Campbellton region, which is one of two areas in the province that were hit by significant outbreaks of novel coronavirus two weeks ago.

Health officials say the two new cases involve a person 40 to 49 years old and a person between 70 and 79 — both are self-isolating.

There are currently 75 active cases in a province that has confirmed 324 overall cases, while 245 people have recovered and four people have died.

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11:50 a.m.

Canada saw a record high number of COVID-19 cases diagnosed yesterday, with 2,788 new illnesses recorded.

In an Ottawa news conference, Canada’s chief public health officer is calling, again, for Canadians to reduce their contacts with other people, wear masks and follow hygiene protocols.

Dr. Theresa Tam says the longer we wait to curb the spread of COVID-19, the harder it will be to contain.

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11:45 a.m.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada is spending $214 million to produce potential COVID-19 vaccines in Canada.

That includes a deal with Quebec’s Medicago and one with British Columbia’s Precision NanoSystems, both of which are working on potential vaccines.

Trudeau says the Medicago agreement includes the rights to buy up to 76 million doses of its vaccine, if it proves safe and effective, and funding for a factory in Quebec City to produce them.

The prime minister also says Canada has received “hundreds of thousands” of test kits from medical company Abbott to be distributed to the provinces and territories.

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11:20 a.m.

Two more vaccine makers have asked Health Canada to study their product before it has completed clinical trials. 

Both Moderna and Pfizer applied to Health Canada on Oct. 12 to have their vaccine candidates studied by the regulator.

Health Canada is trying to review the vaccines at the same time they are undergoing final clinical tests so they can be approved for use here as quickly as possible. 

AstraZeneca applied for its vaccine candidate on Oct. 1.

All three vaccine candidates are among the ones Canada will get access to if they are deemed safe and effective.

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11:15 a.m.

Quebec is reporting 905 new cases of COVID-19 and 12 more deaths attributed to the novel coronavirus.

Authorities said today four COVID-related deaths occurred in the past 24 hours.

Hospitalizations dropped by 13 compared with the prior day, for a total of 540.

The province has reported a total of 98,226 COVID-19 infections and 6,106 deaths linked to the virus.

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11 a.m.

Ontario is reporting 826 new cases of COVID-19 today, and nine new deaths due to the virus.

Health Minister Christine Elliott says 292 cases are in Toronto, 186 in Peel Region, 87 in Ottawa, and 72 in York Region.

The province says it has conducted 40,019 tests since the last daily report, with another 35,436 being processed.

In total, 276 people are hospitalized in Ontario due to COVID-19, including 78 in intensive care.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2020. 

The Canadian Press