The latest COVID-19 developments in Canada

The latest COVID-19 developments in Canada (all times Eastern):

6:30 p.m.

B.C. provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says the latest COVID-19 death in the province reminds people that the virus can’t tell the difference between the size of gatherings.

A woman in her 80s died in hospital after attending a small birthday party in a home where most of those who went to celebrate became infected.

There are 234 new cases of COVID-19 for a total of 14,109 people, while 11,448 people have recovered.

Henry gave her update in Surrey in the Fraser Health region, where COVID-19 has increased dramatically, prompting the limiting of gatherings in private homes to the occupants plus six people.

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4 p.m.

Santa Claus won’t be coming to Vancouver this year with the parade being cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Vancouver Santa Claus Parade Society says they gave up after months of exploring alternative formats and options, which would have allowed the popular attraction to go ahead.

Other parade-day events including breakfast with Santa at Fairmont Hotel Vancouver and photos at TELUS Garden have also been cancelled.

The parade, which is usually held in early December, follows a 1.8-kilometre route and has bands, choirs, float entries and community groups perform along the way.

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2 p.m.

New Brunswick is reporting four new cases of COVID-19.

Chief medical officer of health Dr. Jennifer Russell said today one of the cases involves a resident at a seniors centre in Campbellton and therefore declared an outbreak at that facility.

She says two other cases are also in the Campbellton region while one case is located in the Moncton area. 

Russell says all residents and staff at the affected seniors residence will be tested for COVID-19.

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1:30 p.m.

Manitoba health officials have announced 193 new COVID-19 cases — a record daily high. 

The province’s chief public health officer has said many cases in the recent surge have been linked to people gathering for dinners and other social occasions. 

Dr. Brent Roussin has said greater restrictions may have to be implemented if the numbers don’t drop.

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11:15 a.m.

Quebec is reporting 25 more deaths attributed to COVID-19 and 1,030 new infections.

The Health Department says hospitalizations dropped by 17, to 509, and of those patients, 78 are intensive care, a decrease of 11.

There are now five long-term care homes where more 25 per cent of residents have active cases of COVID-19 — down from eight care homes the day before.

Quebec has reported a total of 103,844 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 6,214 deaths linked to the novel coronavirus.

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11 a.m.

Scientists say pandemic problems are just starting unless the world moves to deal with the issues creating them.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services says new virus-born diseases are becoming more common as humans encroach onto animal habitat and trade in wildlife. 

It says mammals host hundreds of thousands of viruses that could possibly infect humans. 

The panel’s report, released today, says purely medical responses are no longer enough — humans need to slow deforestation and reducing consumption of products that drive it, such as meat. 

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10:30 a.m.

Ontario is reporting 934 new cases of COVID-19 today, and 10 new deaths due to the virus.
Health Minister Christine Elliott says 420 cases are in Toronto, 169 in Peel Region, 95 in York Region and 62 in Ottawa.
The province says it has conducted 35,621 tests since the last daily report, and has a backlog of 40,074.
In total, 322 people are hospitalized in Ontario due to COVID-19, including 77 in intensive care.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 29, 2020

The Canadian Press