The latest news on COVID-19 developments in Canada for Wednesday, June 23, 2021

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

6:40 p.m.

British Columbia is reporting increasing immunization numbers, with more than 77 per cent of adults having received a first vaccine dose and almost 76 per cent of those 12 years and older having had their first shot. 

Health officials say they have administered 4.5 million vaccine doses, of which 1.05 million are second shots. 

B.C. is reporting 87 new cases of COVID-19. 

The province is also reporting one death, bringing the total number of deaths to 1,744.

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6:10 p.m.

Alberta is reporting 92 new cases of COVID-19 today and two additional deaths.

There are currently 1,676 active cases in the province.

A total of 199 people are in hospital, with 56 of those patients in intensive care.

The province says in its daily update that more than 3.9 million doses of vaccine have been administered.

Seventy-one per cent of Albertans over the age of 12 have received one dose and more than 31 per cent are fully vaccinated with two doses.

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3:35 p.m.

Saskatchewan is reporting 32 new cases of COVID-19 today.

One person in their 70s from the northwest zone has died.

Sixty-four more people have recovered, leaving the province with 607 active cases.

The seven-day average of new COVID-19 cases reported in the province is 61, which is its lowest mark since October 2020.

The province is also reporting 75 people in hospital, including 12 in intensive care.

For the fourth day in a row, Saskatchewan is reporting that 69 per cent of those aged 12 and older have had their first COVID-19 vaccine.

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2:15 p.m.

The premiers of the four Atlantic provinces will meet later today to discuss the blockade of the Trans-Canada Highway at the New Brunswick-Nova Scotia boundary.

Protesters are upset with Nova Scotia’s decision to exclude New Brunswick when it lifted COVID-19 self-isolation requirements today for residents of P.E.I. and Newfoundland and Labrador.

Nova Scotia Premier Iain Rankin has said the extra measures are necessary because of New Brunswick’s decision last week to allow Canadian travellers with at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine to enter the province without having to self-isolate.

New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs is encouraging protesters to end the blockade.

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1:55 p.m.

Manitoba is reporting 122 new cases of COVID-19 and three more deaths. 

The five-day test positivity rate continues to steadily drop and is at 7.1 per cent provincially and 6.6 per cent in Winnipeg. 

There are still 222 Manitobans in hospitals due to COVID-19. 

It includes 13 Manitobans that are being treated in intensive-care units in other provinces.

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1:45 p.m.

Health officials in New Brunswick are reporting one new case of COVID-19 today.

The case involves a person in their 90s in the Bathurst area and is a contact of a previously reported case.

There are 43 active cases in the province, which is the lowest since mid-March.

There are five people in hospital as a result of COVID-19, including two in intensive care.

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1:35 p.m.

Nova Scotia is reporting no new cases of COVID-19 today.

The province has 60 active cases of novel coronavirus, with three people in hospital, including one in intensive care.

As of Tuesday, 808,713 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered, with 112,328 people having received their booster shot.

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1:15 p.m.

Manitobans will be able to return to restaurants, go to church and meet with larger groups of people as the province brings in the first step of its COVID-19 reopening plan ahead of schedule.

Premier Brian Pallister says vaccination goals have been surpassed, so some restrictions will be loosened Saturday — a week earlier than planned.

More than 71 per cent of Manitobans have received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine and about 27 per cent have had a second dose.

The provincial government’s three-step plan will see public health orders loosened if vaccination rates are met by certain summer holidays.

Faith services, hair salons, gyms and sports will be allowed to open in the first step, but with capacity restrictions.

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1:15 p.m. 

Health officials in Newfoundland and Labrador are reporting no new cases of COVID-19 today.

There are 13 active cases of COVID-19 in the province and no one is in hospital because of the disease.

The investigation into the cluster of cases in the Western Health region is ongoing and there are currently 42 confirmed cases associated with the cluster. 

The source of infection remains under investigation.

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12:30 p.m.

Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller says 77 per cent of eligible residents of Indigenous communities have received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, while nearly 50 per cent have received a second dose.

Miller also provided an update on the COVID-19 outbreak in the Kashechewan First Nation in northern Ontario, where he says there are now 87 active cases and 215 recovered cases.

Since June 15, Miller says the active cases in the community have gone down by over 65 per cent and he thanked Chief Leo Friday for his leadership.

Miller adds there is great news from Nunavut, which has been dealing with an outbreak since mid-April but announced yesterday zero active cases and 262 recoveries.

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11 a.m.

Quebec is reporting 127 new cases of COVID-19 today and three more deaths attributed to the novel coronavirus.

Health officials say the number of COVID-19 hospitalizations and intensive care patients remained stable, at 161 and 40, respectively.

The province says 97,047 doses of COVID-19 vaccines were administered in the past 24 hours.

Quebec has reported a total of 374,222 COVID-19 infections and 11,198 deaths linked to the virus.

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10:30 a.m.

Ontario reports 255 new cases of COVID-19 in the province and 11 more deaths linked to the virus.

Health Minister Christine Elliott says there are 57 new cases in Toronto, 53 in the Region of Waterloo, and 25 in Peel Region.

The Ministry of Health says there are 305 people in intensive care with COVID-19. 

Elliott says that a record high of more than 227-thousand doses of vaccine were administered since Tuesday’s report, for a total of more than 13 million.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 23, 2021.

The Canadian Press