The latest news on COVID-19 developments in Canada

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

5:45 p.m.

Alberta is reporting 1,437 new COVID-19 cases and three new deaths.

The province’s chief medical health officer says the new cases include 932 variants of concern.

Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Deena Hinshaw says such variants now make up 61.1 per cent of active infections in the province.

There are 594 people in hospital with COVID-19, including 140 in intensive care.

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5 p.m.

Health officials in New Brunswick are reporting four new cases of COVID-19.

The provincial Department of Health says two of the latest cases were identified in the Edmundston region, while the remaining two are in the Saint John and Fredericton areas.

There are now 130 active reported infections in the province and eight people are hospitalized due to the disease, including three in intensive care.

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4 p.m.

Saskatchewan is reporting two new deaths of people with COVID-19, as well as 249 new cases.

Both deaths were in Saskatchewan’s North West zone — one was a person in their 50s and the other was over 80.

There are 186 people in hospital with COVID-19, with 49 in intensive care.

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3:15 p.m.

Newfoundland and Labrador is reporting two new cases of COVID-19.

Officials say both infections are related to travel within the country.

The province now has 25 active reported cases of COVID-19 and one person is in hospital due to the disease.

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2:45 p.m.

Nova Scotia is doubling its fines for breaching public health orders from $1,000 to $2,000.

Premier Iain Rankin made the announcement today after police said they broke up a party overnight Friday and issued 22 tickets.

Rankin said he was “infuriated” to hear about the gathering.

He also asked residents to not only stay home as much as possible, but to avoid leaving their communities entirely.

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2:05 p.m.

Manitoba health officials and leaders from the Chemawawin Cree Nation say they are seeing a “trend of concerning case numbers” in the community on the north shore of Cedar Lake.

The province’s daily pandemic update says the First Nation’s chief and council have banned public gatherings and residents must stay at home.

People are allowed out for medical care or testing, or to work in essential services, but only one person should go out for essential supplies.

Masks must also be worn outside of the home.

The province also says people who arrived in Winnipeg on WestJet Flight WS526 from Calgary on April 16 may have been exposed to a variant of concern if they were seated in the first six rows.

Manitoba is reporting 259 new COVID-19 cases and no new virus-related deaths today, and says there are 139 people in hospital with the novel coronavirus, including 37 in intensive care.

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11:20 a.m.

The Quebec government is reporting 1,014 new cases of COVID-19 as well as nine additional deaths due to the virus, including six in the last 24 hours.

Hospitalizations declined by eight to 654.

Of those, 165 patients are in intensive care, which is 16 fewer than a day prior.

The province administered another 63,763 doses of vaccine on Saturday, and has currently given at least one dose to 32.8 per cent of the population.

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10:55 a.m.

Ontario is reporting 3,947 new COVID-19 cases, a slight drop from the 4,094 announced a day earlier.

The province is also reporting 24 more virus-related deaths today, bringing Ontario’s death toll to 7,911 since the onset of the pandemic.

Numbers show 2,126 COVID-19 patients are currently in Ontario hospitals, with 851 in intensive care and 597 on a ventilator.

Those figures are based on 46,694 tests completed in the last 24 hours.

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9:50 a.m.

Nova Scotia is reporting a record-breaking 63 new cases of COVID-19 today.

It’s the highest single-day increase in case numbers the province has reported since the pandemic first emerged last spring.

Premier Iain Rankin posted the numbers to his Facebook page, commending residents for availing themselves of the province’s many testing opportunities.

The Department of Health says 57 of the new infections are in the province’s central zone, which includes Halifax.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 25, 2021. 

The Canadian Press