The latest news on COVID-19 developments in Canada for Friday, June 4, 2021

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

7:05 p.m.

B.C. health officials say they are gearing up for a busy month as the province works on the rollout of its second doses of COVID-19 vaccinations.

Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix say in a joint statement that 72.4 per cent of all adults in B.C. have received a first dose of vaccine.

B.C. recorded 183 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, the fourth straight day the province has reported fewer than 200 new cases.

The province also reported one new COVID-19 death for a total of 1,710.

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5:40 p.m.

Alberta is reporting 244 new cases of COVID-19 and seven more deaths due to the virus.

The active case total in the province is at 5,415.

There are 379 people in hospital because of the illness, with 108 of them in intensive care.

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3:35 p.m.

Saskatchewan is reporting 89 new cases of COVID-19 today, and no new deaths.

There have been 111 more recoveries, leaving the province with 1,292 active cases.

The province also reported 101 people in hospital, including 21 patients in intensive care.

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

People aged 65 and older, or who received their first dose by March 22, are now eligible to receive their second dose.

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2:20 p.m.

New Brunswick is offering walk-in clinics for people who wish to receive their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.

Health officials say 67.4 per cent of people aged 12 and older have received a first dose of vaccine and that more than 50,000 will need to get vaccinated over the weekend to reach the target of 75 per cent that will allow a partial reopening from restrictions on Monday.

The province is reporting 10 new cases of novel coronavirus including six cases in the Fredericton area, two cases in the Moncton region, one case in the Saint John area and one in the Bathurst region.

There are 147 active cases, with four patients hospitalized in the province, including one in intensive care and one patient who is in intensive care outside of New Brunswick.

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2:10 p.m.

Quebec is relaxing COVID-19 health orders in seniors residences.

Starting Monday, visitors will no longer need to make appointments to see residents of seniors homes.

Fully vaccinated residents will be able to spend time together in each other’s apartments.

Quebec has administered two doses in all long-term care homes and has almost done the same in seniors residences.

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1:40 p.m.

Canada’s chief public health officer says there have been a handful of reports of patients developing pericarditis, inflammation of the sac that surrounds the heart, following vaccination in Canada, but the numbers aren’t beyond what is normally seen outside of a mass vaccination campaign.

Dr. Theresa Tam says Health Canada is monitoring reports of pericarditis in patients in Israel and the United States, following their second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.

She said the cases have tended to be mild, with a swift recovery, and have mostly occurred in younger males.

In Canada, very few younger males have received two doses of any vaccine yet.

Tam said the symptoms to look for include chest pain, shortness of breath or an irregular heartbeat.

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1:35 p.m.

Manitoba is reporting 329 new COVID-19 cases and four deaths. 

Dr. Jazz Atwal, the deputy chief public health officer, says daily case counts are improving but the strain on the health-care system continues. 

Dozens of patients have been sent to other provinces in recent weeks to free up intensive care beds.

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1:10 p.m.

Nova Scotia is reporting 15 new COVID-19 cases today.

Health officials have identified nine new cases in the Halifax area and six in the eastern zone.

The province has 251 active cases, with 21 people in hospital, including eight in intensive care.

As of Thursday, 621,661 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered, with 44,188 people having received their second dose.

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12:50 p.m.

Manitoba has expended eligibility for a second COVID-19 vaccine dose.

Anyone who received a first dose on or before April 25 can now book an appointment for a second. 

All Indigenous people in the province, as well, as people with certain high-risk medical conditions, can also book a second dose.

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12:45 p.m.

One of Manitoba’s major tourism events is cancelling plans for this year.

The Winnipeg Folk Festival had already been pushed back from its normal July time to mid-August. 

Organizers now say that due to the ongoing uncertainty over the COVID-19 pandemic, the festival will not be held at all this year and will return in July 2022

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12:40 p.m.

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

One case involves a woman in her 40s in the western health region and the second is a man in his 40s also in the western region.

The province has 80 known active cases of novel coronavirus.

One person is in hospital.

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12 p.m.

The number of confirmed or suspected cases of vaccine-induced thrombotic thrombocytopenia, or VITT, in Canada, now sits at 44.

That is an increase of three since the last week of May.

Thirty of those cases have now been confirmed, and the other 14 remain under investigation. 

Five people have died.

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11:55 a.m.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Pfizer has confirmed its delivery schedule through to the end of the summer, with two million doses expected every week in July and August. 

The shipments will mean the 48 million doses Pfizer has promised Canada will be on the ground by the end of August.

Trudeau says given the popularity of the vaccine, Pfizer is adding another three million doses in September.

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11 a.m.

Quebec is reporting 279 new cases of COVID-19 today and four more deaths attributed to the novel coronavirus.

Health officials say hospitalizations dropped by 10, to 307, and 67 people were in intensive care, a drop of one.

The province says 95,704 vaccine doses were administered on Thursday, for a total of 5,906,696 doses. 

The province will announce new measures for seniors’ homes during a news conference this afternoon.

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10:35 a.m.

Ontario reports 914 new cases of COVID-19 in the province and 19 more deaths linked to the virus.

Health Minister Christine Elliott says there are 214 new cases in Toronto, 169 in Peel Region, and 69 in Durham Region.

The Ministry of Health says 687 people are hospitalized with the novel coronavirus — 522 in intensive care and 357 on a ventilator.

Ontario says more than 168,000 doses of a COVID-19 vaccine were administered since Thursday’s report for a total of over 9.6 million doses.

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10:30 a.m.

Ontarians aged 70 and older and those who received a first mRNA vaccine on or before April 18 can book their second COVID-19 vaccine doses sooner than expected.

Eligible people can book through pharmacies starting today and through the provincial booking system on Monday.

The province is moving up the schedule based on an anticipated bump in vaccine supply.

It’s aiming to accelerate the schedule for more people throughout the summer.

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10:30 a.m.

Nunavut is reporting one new cases of COVID-19 today, bringing the territory’s active case count to 10.

All the active cases are in Iqaluit, where an outbreak has been ongoing since mid-April.

Premier Joe Savikataaq says the new case is a household contact with a previous case.

Iqaluit’s lockdown, which has been in place since April 15, lifted Thursday with schools, workplaces and businesses reopening.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 4, 2021.

The Canadian Press