The latest news on COVID-19 developments in Canada for Monday, June 28, 2021

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

6:55 p.m.

The Northwest Territories is no longer requiring masks to be worn in public places in Yellowknife and three other communities.

The territory says it revoked the public health order effective this afternoon.

The chief public health officer kept the order in place for two weeks after a COVID-19 outbreak at N.J. Macpherson School in Yellowknife was officially declared over.

Dr. Kami Kandola says it is still a good idea to wear a mask indoors when there is a crowd, poor ventilation, or shouting or singing.

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6:25 p.m.

B.C. is reporting 145 new cases of COVID-19 diagnosed over the last three days for an average of about 48 per day.

There are 930 active infections, including 107 people who are in hospital, and five more people have died, pushing the death toll in the province to 1,754.

Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry presented data showing many B.C. communities did not record any new cases in the last week, while cases in the hard-hit Lower Mainland have dropped dramatically.

Henry says overall vaccine effectiveness in B.C. is 70 per cent, meaning immunization is preventing seven out of 10 infections – the vast majority of which are variants of concern.

The province is poised to move into the next phase of its reopening later this week.

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6:05 p.m.

Alberta is reporting more declining daily COVID-19 case numbers over the last few days.

The province says there were 81 new infections Thursday, 64 on Friday, 33 on Saturday and 31 yesterday.

There are 1,261 active cases in Alberta.

And there are 179 people in hospital due to COVID-19, including 39 in intensive care.

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3:40 p.m.

Saskatchewan is reporting 17 new cases of COVID-19.

The province says there are no additional deaths due to the virus.

There are 76 people in hospital because of COVID-19, and 13 of them are in intensive care.

So far, 70 per cent of residents who are 12 and older have received a first dose of vaccine.

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1:35 p.m.

Manitoba is reporting 61 new COVID-19 cases and no deaths. 

The province’s chief public health officer says a child under 10, whose death was announced on the weekend, had underlying health conditions.

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1:10 p.m.

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

Health officials say three cases have been identified in the eastern zone, which includes Cape Breton, and the other case is in the Halifax area.

The province has 57 active cases of novel coronavirus, with two people in hospital as a result of the infection.

As of Sunday, 876,217 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered, with 172,910 people having received a booster shot.

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12:15 p.m.

Health officials in New Brunswick are reporting that more than 30.2 per cent of the population over 12 has received two doses of COVID-19 vaccine.

They say 77 per cent of eligible New Brunswickers have received at least one dose.

Health officials are reporting one new case of COVID-19 today, involving a person in their 50s in the Moncton region.

New Brunswick has 26 active reported cases of COVID-19 and four patients in hospital with the disease, including one in intensive care.

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11:45 a.m.

Canada crossed a milestone this weekend of having 10 million people fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

Ontario reported today it had given second doses to more than 160,000 people Sunday, pushing the number of fully vaccinated people in the country to 10.14 million — or more than 30 per cent of eligible Canadians at least 12 years old.

Canada’s fully vaccinated population is increasing quickly, with more than three million people vaccinated in the last week alone. 

At the current pace, Canada could reach 50 per cent fully vaccinated in about two weeks.

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11 a.m.

Quebec is reporting 76 new cases of COVID-19 today and no deaths attributed to the novel coronavirus.

Health officials in the province haven’t reported a COVID-19-linked death since June 23.

Officials say they identified 178 cases on Friday and Saturday; the Health Department has stopped releasing COVID-19 data on weekends.

The province says COVID-19 hospitalizations dropped by 11 since Friday, to 124, and 31 people were in intensive care, a drop of nine since the last report.

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10:45 a.m.

Ontario is reporting 210 new COVID-19 cases today and three more deaths attributed to the novel coronavirus.

The numbers are based on 13,071 tests.

There were 218 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 as of Monday and 287 patients in intensive care with COVID-19-related critical illness. 

The province says more than 180,300 COVID-19 vaccines were administered Sunday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 28, 2021.

The Canadian Press