The latest news on COVID-19 developments in Canada for Tuesday, June 1, 2021

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

6:25 p.m.

British Columbia health officials say about 70 per cent of eligible adults in the province have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

The province reported 184 new cases of COVID-19 for a total of 144,473.

Officials say there have been no new deaths, and so far 1,703 COVID-19-related fatalities have been recorded.

They say they will be following the National Advisory Committee on Immunization guidelines on mixing and matching vaccines.

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5:55 p.m.

Alberta is reporting 209 new cases of COVID-19 and one additional death.

The province says there are 438 people in hospital because of the virus, and 127 in intensive care.

It is also speeding up appointments for second doses of vaccine.

People who got a first shot in March can now book for their second shot.

Those who received one in April can book starting June 14, and those who got a vaccination in May can book starting June 28.

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3:35 p.m.

Saskatchewan is reporting 86 new cases of COVID-19 today.

A person in their 70s in the central east zone has died.  

There were 181 more recoveries, leaving the province with 1,272 active cases.

The province also reported 108 people in hospital, including 23 patients in intensive care.

Sixty-six per cent of Saskatchewan adults have now received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine.

Starting tomorrow, those aged 65 and older, or who received their first dose by March 22, will be eligible for a second dose.

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2:35 p.m.

A popular summer festival in Edmonton won’t be going ahead this year.

Officials with Northlands say in a news release that K-Days will not take place this summer, despite Alberta’s Open for Summer plan to safely reduce and ultimately remove public health restrictions due to COVID-19.

They say they took a hard look at whether they could deliver a high-quality event given the limited timelines and resources.

Officials say they will work to relaunch K-Days in 2022.

The festival has taken a different approach than the Calgary Stampede, which is expected to go ahead with a modified version of the world-renowned rodeo and fair in Calgary in July.

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1:55 p.m.

Nova Scotia is reporting 12 new cases of COVID-19 today.

Health officials have identified eight new cases in the Halifax area, with six being close contacts of previously reported cases and two under investigation.

There are three cases in the province’s eastern zone and one in the northern zone.

The province has 369 known active cases of novel coronavirus with 38 people in hospital, including 15 in intensive care.

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1:35 p.m.

Manitoba is reporting 232 new COVID-19 cases and three deaths. 

Six earlier cases have been removed due to data correction for a net increase of 226. 

The five-day test-positivity rate stands at 12 per cent provincially and 13.5 per cent in Winnipeg.

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1:15 p.m.

Quebec Premier François Legault says gyms and indoor restaurant dining can reopen Monday in Montreal and its northern suburb Laval.

Legault told reporters today Quebecers should expect cases to rise in the region over the next few weeks because rules are easing, but he says the health-care system can handle it.

He says he is also easing restrictions across several other Quebec regions on Monday.

The government says it will announce a plan on Thursday that will allow Quebecers to advance their second doses of COVID-19 vaccine.

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1:05 p.m.

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

Health officials say the new cases involve one person in the Moncton region, two in the Fredericton region and two in the Bathurst area.

New Brunswick has 142 active reported cases and five patients in hospital with the disease. 

There is one New Brunswicker in hospital with COVID-19 outside the province.

About 63.4 per cent of New Brunswickers aged 12 and older have received at least a first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.

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12:05 p.m.

The National Advisory Committee on Immunization says people who got the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine for the first dose can be offered either Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna for the second.

The advice affects more than two million Canadians who received the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine before provinces stopped using it for first doses last month as it is potentially linked to a rare but serious blood clotting syndrome.

NACI says it is basing their advice on the risk of the syndrome, and emerging evidence that mixing and matching different types of vaccines is not only safe but may produce a better immune response.

Manitoba didn’t wait for the guidance, announcing Monday they would offer AstraZeneca recipients Pfizer or Moderna if they wanted.

Quebec currently recommends getting the same vaccine twice but says with informed consent people who got AstraZeneca first can get Pfizer or Moderna. 

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11:50 a.m.

Quebec is reporting 208 new cases of COVID-19 today and five more deaths attributed to the novel coronavirus, including one within the past 24 hours.

Health officials say hospitalizations dropped by eight, to 354, and 86 people were in intensive care, a drop of three.

The province says it administered 65,917 doses of vaccine since its last report, for a total of 5,648,992; about 61.3 per cent of Quebecers have received at least one dose.

Quebec says it will begin vaccinating temporary foreign workers when they arrive at the Montreal airport.

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10:50 a.m.

Ontario is reporting 699 new COVID-19 cases and nine deaths from the virus.

The data is based on 20,262 tests.

The province says 804 people are hospitalized with COVID-19, including 583 patients in intensive care and 387 on ventilators.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 1, 2021.

The Canadian Press