The latest COVID-19 developments in Canada

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

6:50 p.m.

Alberta is reporting 967 new cases of COVID-19.

There have also been 21 additional deaths linked to the virus.

The province says there are 806 people in hospital, and 136 of those are in intensive care.

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6:45 p.m.

Alberta is easing some of its public-health restrictions imposed in December to limit the spread of COVID-19.

Health Minister Tyler Shandro says personal and wellness services, including hair salons and tattoo parlours, can open by appointment only.

Outdoor social gatherings, which were previously banned, will be allowed in groups of up to 10 people.

And the limit of people attending funerals is increasing to 20, although receptions are still prohibited.

The changes are to take effect Monday.

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6:15 p.m.

British Columbia health officials say they have detected their first case of the South African strain of COVID-19.

The province also has four cases of the U.K. variant of the virus.

Officials reported 536 new infections and seven new deaths.

This brings the total number of cases in B.C. to 59,608 and deaths to 1,038.

So far, 52,605 have recovered from the virus and 69,746 COVID-19 vaccinations have been administered.

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5:05 p.m.

Prince Edward Island has confirmed one new case of COVID-19. 

Chief public health officer Dr. Heather Morrison says the case involves a man in his 50s who arrived in the province following travel outside Atlantic Canada.

After an initial negative test, he tested positive in routine testing and is self-isolating with no symptoms.

P.E.I. has eight active cases of COVID-19 and has had a total of 104 cases since the pandemic began.

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3:15 p.m.

Newfoundland and Labrador is reporting one new case of COVID-19 related to international travel.

It says the case involves a man aged 20 to 39 in the eastern health region who is self-isolating at home.

Health officials say there are currently four active cases in the province and one person is in hospital.

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2:15 p.m.

Nova Scotia is reporting six new cases of COVID-19 today.

Three cases were identified in the central zone — one of which involved a student at Dalhousie University in Halifax who lives off campus.

The other cases were identified in the northern zone and are connected to previously reported cases.

Nova Scotia says there are 32 known active COVID-19 infections across the province.

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2 p.m.

Manitoba is reporting 261 new cases of COVID-19 and two additional deaths.

That brings the death toll in the province due to the virus to 755.

The province says there are 290 people in hospital and 37 of them are in intensive care.

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2 p.m.

New Brunswick is reporting 23 new cases of COVID-19 today.

There are now 246 active reported cases in the province.

Chief medical officer of health Dr. Jennifer Russell says more than 2,000 people in New Brunswick are in self-isolation.

The province has reported three COVID-related deaths this week.

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1:30 p.m.

Quebec’s health minister says the province plans to wait up to 90 days before administering booster shots to patients who have received a first dose of COVID-19 vaccine.

Christian Dube says the strategy will allow Quebec to vaccinate more vulnerable seniors and reduce the pressure on the health system.

Dube says health officials will be able to reduce the interval between first and second doses once more vaccines are available.

Canada’s vaccine advisory committee has recommended the second dose of approved COVID-19 vaccines be given a maximum of 42 days after the first, but Dube says the committee has acknowledged that the interval can be extended when necessary, based on the disease’s progression.

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12:50 p.m.

Canada has seen 7,727 cases of COVID-19 on an average day in the last week and hospitalizations and deaths are still increasing.

In her daily national update on the pandemic, chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam says the burden is worsening on hospitals and local health authorities.

She says infection rates are highest among people older than 80, who are most at risk of serious illness.

If there’s good news, it’s that no new cases of the so-called U.K. or South African variants of the virus that causes COVID-19 were detected in Canada yesterday.

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12:30 p.m.

Canada will have received a total of 929,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines by the end of the week.  

Maj. Gen. Dany Fortin, the vice-president of logistics at the Public Health Agency of Canada, says that includes the delivery of 380,000 fresh doses this week alone.

The shipment is set to include about 208,000 doses of Pfizer’s vaccine and 181,000 doses of the one developed by Moderna.

Fortin says weekly deliveries will grow to one million total from both companies by April.

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11:45 a.m.

Federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is calling on the Liberal government to ease access to paid sick leave for Canadian workers to reduce the spread of COVID-19.

Singh is criticizing the lag between filing for the Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit and receiving it, a delay he compared to applying for employment insurance.

He is asking Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to recall Parliament and legislate 10 days of paid sick leave for federally regulated employees through the Canada Labour Code, and to further promote the one-week, $500 benefit that is already in place.

The New Democrat leader says uptake of the benefit is low, which suggests a lack of awareness among sick workers as well as what he deemed an “impossible choice” between working and staying home.

Singh is also calling for tighter restrictions on travel, but did not specify an “exact mechanism” to limit trips abroad.

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11:15 a.m.

Quebec is reporting 2,132 new cases of COVID-19 and 64 more deaths, including 15 that occurred in the past 24 hours.

The province says hospitalizations rose by seven, to 1,523, and 230 people were in intensive care, a rise of one.

Health Minister Christian Dube is scheduled to hold a news conference about Quebec’s vaccination campaign.

The province had administered 107,365 doses as of Tuesday.

Quebec has reported a total of 236,827 COVID-19 infections and 8,878 deaths linked to the virus.

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11:10 a.m.

Ontario labour inspectors will will blitz big-box stores this weekend to enforce public health rules.

Labour Minister Monte McNaughton says inspectors will visit stores in Toronto, Hamilton, Peel Region, York Region and Durham Region.

He says the inspectors will have the power to issue tickets of up to $750 to store supervisors, workers, or patrons if they’re not following public health rules.

Inspectors will focus on ensuring people are wearing masks, maintaining physical distance and following safety guidelines.

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10:30 a.m.

The province of Ontario says there are 3,326 new cases of COVID-19 in the province and 62 more deaths linked to the virus.

Health Minister Christine Elliott says 968 of those new cases are in Toronto, 572 in Peel Region and 357 in York Region.

Vaccinations continue across Ontario with 14,237 doses administered since Wednesday’s update.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 14, 2021.

The Canadian Press

Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous version said in the 12:30 p.m. entry that weekly deliveries will grow to one million each for the Pfizer-BioNTech and Modern vaccines. In fact, it will be one million total doses a week.