The latest news on COVID-19 developments in Canada for Tuesday, June 8, 2021

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

6:50 p.m.

Health officials in British Columbia say it’s encouraging to see a steady increase in the number of people who are protected with a COVID-19 vaccine as the number of cases decline.

However, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix say that of the nearly 3.7 million doses of vaccine that have been administered, fewer than 346,000 are second doses.

B.C. is reporting 165 new infections and no additional deaths.

There are currently 2,051 active cases of COVID-19, and of the 203 people in hospital, 57 are in intensive care.

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6:45 p.m.

Saskatchewan is reporting its lowest number of active cases since November.

At a news conference Tuesday afternoon, Health Minister Paul Merriman said the “overwhelming majority” of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in May had not been vaccinated.

However, as hospitalization numbers are down overall, all of Saskatoon’s hospitals will be allowing in more family visitors starting tomorrow.

At this time, the province is not looking at offering any sort of vaccine incentive.

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6:15 p.m.

Alberta’s medical officer of health is reporting 139 new cases of COVID-19 and three new deaths.

Dr. Deena Hinshaw says 336 people are in hospital due to the virus and, of those, 85 are in intensive care.

She says there are 4,431 active cases provincewide – the lowest number Alberta has seen since March 9.

Hinshaw says 67 per cent of eligible Albertans have had one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 15 per cent are fully immunized.

She adds that the province’s infection rate is at about 4.2 per cent.

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3:35 p.m.

Saskatchewan is reporting 90 new cases of COVID-19 today.

Two more people have died, both in the over-80 age group.

One was in the north central zone and one was in the northwest zone.

There have been 177 more recoveries, leaving the province with 1,053 active cases.

The province also reported 104 people in hospital, including 18 patients in intensive care, one of whom is an out-of-province transfer from Manitoba.

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

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1:40 p.m.

Nova Scotia is reporting 17 new cases of COVID-19 today.

Health officials have identified nine cases in the Halifax area, seven in the province’s eastern zone and one in the western zone.

The province has 171 known active cases of novel coronavirus with 17 people in hospital, including seven in intensive care.

As of Monday, officials say 642,718 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered with 44,876 people having received their booster shot.

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1:35 p.m.

Manitoba is reporting 237 new COVID-19 cases and two deaths. 

Three earlier cases have been removed due to data correction for a net increase of 234. 

The five-day test-positivity rate stands at 12 per cent provincially and 12.6 per cent in Winnipeg.

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1 p.m.

The Quebec government says it will allow graduating high school students to hold proms this year.

Premier François Legault made the announcement today and says proms can be held as of July 8 as long as they are outdoors and host a maximum of 250 people.

Legault says the majority of teenagers will have received a first vaccine dose by next month.

The province is also speeding up its deconfinement plan and Legault says all regions of the province will be either at the green or yellow pandemic-alert levels as of next Monday, allowing indoor private gatherings and team sports to resume.

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1 p.m.

Newfoundland and Labrador is reporting its seventh death from COVID-19.

Officials say a man over 70 in the eastern region of the province has died because of the disease.

The province is also reporting three new cases today, one of which is connected to an outbreak in western Newfoundland.

There are now 62 active reported COVID-19 infections across the province.

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12:15 p.m.

New Brunswick is reporting one new case of COVID-19 today.

Health officials say the new case involves a person in their 70s in the Bathurst, N.B., area who is a contact of a previously reported infection.

New Brunswick has 99 active reported cases and three patients in hospital with the disease, including one in intensive care.

One New Brunswicker is hospitalized with COVID-19 outside the province.

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12:10 p.m.

Manitobans who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 will soon be able to travel within Canada without having to self-isolate upon returning to Manitoba.

Premier Brian Pallister says new secure vaccination cards will be available to people who have received both doses.

It will exempt people from the current rule that requires people to self-isolate for 14 days.

The card will also let people visit loved ones in hospitals and personal care homes.

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12 p.m.

COVID-19 cases in Canada are hitting their lowest levels so far in 2021.

The average number of new daily cases of COVID-19 in Canada is below 2,000 for the first time since early October and the number of people in hospital due to COVID-19 is the lowest it has been since last November.

The daily average over the last week is 1,798 new cases, the lowest average since Oct. 2, 2020. It fell slightly below 2,000 on Sunday, at 1,962 new cases on average over the previous seven days.

The last time the average number nationally was below 2,000 was Oct. 12, 2020.

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11:15 a.m.

A Manitoba church accused of repeatedly violating COVID-19 restrictions could face a fine of up to $1 million.

The Church of God Restoration, south of Steinbach, has already been given tickets after holding in-person services contrary to public health orders.

Now the provincial government says the matter is heading to court, where a judge will determine a potential penalty, up to a maximum of $1 million.

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11 a.m.

Quebec is reporting 149 new COVID-19 cases today and four more deaths attributed to the novel coronavirus, none of which occurred in the past 24 hours.

Health officials say hospitalizations dropped by two, to 263, and 60 people were in intensive care, a rise of two.

The province says 64,973 doses of COVID-19 were administered in the last 24 hours, for a total of 6,220,734; about 66.4 per cent of eligible Quebecers have received a first dose.

Premier François Legault will hold a COVID-19 briefing this afternoon in Quebec City.

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10:30 a.m.

Ontario reports that there are 469 new cases of COVID-19 in the province and 18 more deaths linked to the virus.

It’s the lowest daily infections total for Ontario since Sept. 26, when the province reported 435 new cases.

Health Minister Christine Elliott says 182 of today’s cases are in Toronto, 76 are in Peel Region, and 40 are in the Porcupine Health Unit region in northeast Ontario.

Ontario says more than 158,000 doses of a COVID-19 vaccine were administered in the province yesterday, for a total of more than 10.2 million doses so far.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 8, 2021.

The Canadian Press

Note to readers: This is a corrected story. Quebec had previously reported 150 new cases, but changed it to 149.