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.

Canada’s COVID-19 case count has surpassed 600,000 since the beginning of the pandemic. 

Data from the federal government shows the national tally stands at 601,663 as of this evening, nearly 81,000 of which are still active. 

The numbers show Canada has also recorded 15,865 deaths linked to the virus over the course of the pandemic. 

It took just over two weeks for Canada to add another 100,000 to its national total. 

Data shows the case count passed the 500,000 threshold on Dec. 19.

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4:30 p.m.

A Liberal MP is stepping down from her role as parliamentary secretary to the minister of international development after travelling to Seattle over the holidays.

Kamal Khera, who represents the riding of Brampton West, says she flew to Seattle on Dec. 23 to attend a small memorial service for her uncle and father, who died within weeks of each other earlier in the year.

She says she returned to Canada on New Year’s Eve.

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3:20 p.m.

Saskatchewan is reporting 238 new cases of COVID-19 today, but no new deaths.
The latest pandemic update says 38 people in the province are in intensive care with the virus.
The province says its seven-day average of daily new cases is 181, which works out to 15 new cases per 100,000 people.

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2:20 p.m.

Manitoba is reporting 100 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, as well as five additional virus-related deaths.

Officials say a man in his 30s in the Winnipeg health region is among those who died.
Manitoba has seen a total of 683 COVID-19 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic.

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2:10 p.m.

Nunavut’s premier says the territory no longer has any active cases of COVID-19. 

Joe Savikataaq gave the update in a tweet in which he said there were no new diagnoses as of today. 

He says 265 territory residents who have had COVID-19 have recovered.
Savikataaq cautions the good news doesn’t mean the outbreak is over, noting people are still in isolation and residents should still follow public health guidelines.

Nunavut has recorded one death from COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic.

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1:10 p.m.

The federal government is weighing whether to bar people who have travelled overseas from a new COVID-19 benefit.
The Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit, launched in the fall to help Canadians who are unable to work because they must quarantine during the pandemic, is worth $500 per week to a maximum of two weeks.
But Employment Minister Carla Qualtrough says Ottawa is actively looking at all options as questions surface around whether Canadians who have travelled abroad should be allowed to collect the money while in quarantine.
Qualtrough says the benefit was never intended to encourage Canadians to travel outside the country and the government is still discouraging Canadians from taking non-essential trips.

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12:50 p.m.

Health authorities in New Brunswick are reporting seven new cases of COVID-19 today.
They say six of the new infections are in the Moncton region, affecting people in their 30s, 60s, 70s and 80s.
The other new case is in the Campbellton region, affecting a person in their 50s.
New Brunswick has 41 active COVID-19 infections, with one person in intensive care.

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12:15 p.m.

Quebec is reporting more than 7,600 new COVID-19 cases since Thursday and 121 additional deaths linked to the virus over the three-day period.

Health officials say 2,869 of those infections were reported yesterday, 1,986 are from Friday and 2,808 were reported Thursday, the last day on which the province updated data on COVID-19 cases and deaths. 

The three-day total for new diagnoses stands at 7,663. 

Authorities say 11 of the most recently reported deaths occurred in the past 24 hours.

They also say hospitalizations across the province stand at 1,225.

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11:15 a.m.

Ontario is reporting 2,964 new cases of COVID-19 today, along with 25 new deaths related to the virus. 

The figure is down sharply from the single-day high of 3,363 recorded on Saturday. 

Hospitalizations across the province remain high at 998, down slightly from 1,003 recorded a day earlier.

Provincial data suggests roughly a third of Ontario’s 626 long-term care homes are dealing with outbreaks, with 19 more facilities reporting that they’ve been hit by the virus today.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 3, 2021.

The Canadian Press

Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous version said Ontario was reporting 2,984 new cases of COVID-19. The province, in fact, reported 2,964 new cases.