The latest on COVID-19 developments in Canada on Jan. 6, 2021

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

7 p.m.

Yukon is reporting one new COVID-19 case, bringing the territory’s total to 66.

It says the case is associated with travel outside the territory and unrelated to previous ones.

The person is self-isolating and recovering at home.

No public exposure notifications have been issued in relation to this case.

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6:35 p.m.

British Columbia is reporting 625 new cases of COVID-19 as well as eight new deaths today.

It brings the province’s total number of COVID-19 cases to 55,254.

Health Minister Adrian Dix and provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry urged people in a joint statement to look after their mental well-being during this time.

The province also reported that 33,665 people have received a COVID-19 vaccine so far.

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5:50 p.m.

Alberta is reporting 1,123 new cases of COVID-19 and 25 more deaths.

There have been 107,501 cases since the pandemic began and 1,193 people have died of the infection caused by the novel coronavirus.

Some 13,450 cases remain active and 911 people are in hospital, 141 of them in intensive care.

The province says 30,033 doses of vaccine had been administered as of Jan. 5.

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2:50 p.m.

Nova Scotia is reporting 12 new cases of COVID-19 today, two of which are connected to universities.

Health officials say a case was identified in the eastern zone involving a student at St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish.

Of the nine cases identified in the central zone, one involves a student at Dalhousie University in Halifax who lives on campus.

The province says cases were also identified in the western health zone: one is related to travel outside the Atlantic region and the other involves a close contact of a previously reported case.

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2:45 p.m.

Saskatchewan is reporting 277 new cases of COVID-19.

Officials say nine more residents have died, bringing the death toll from the pandemic to 174.

There are 172 people in hospital, with 29 people receiving intensive care.

The province says to date, around 4,500 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine have been administered, mainly to health-care workers in Regina and Saskatoon.

Officials say 48 doses of the Moderna shot have gone into the arms of residents and health workers living in the north.

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2:20 p.m.

Prince Edward Island is reporting four new cases of COVID-19 today.

Chief medical health officer Dr. Heather Morrison says the four cases involve people who travelled outside the Atlantic region.

The cases involve three men — one in his 30s, one in his 40s and one in his 50s — and a woman in her 30s.

There are currently eight active reported COVID-19 infections on the Island.

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2 p.m.

Newfoundland and Labrador has announced it has no new confirmed cases of COVID-19, with just nine active cases in the province.

One person is in hospital due to the virus.

Premier Andrew Furey congratulated the province’s population for avoiding social gatherings and other events that might have spread the virus over the holidays.

He also said residents of long-term care homes will begin receiving vaccinations next week, while in Indigenous communities in Labrador, the Nunatsiavut government begins inoculations next week and the Innu Nation government implements vaccinations beginning Jan. 18.

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1:50 p.m.

New Brunswick is reporting 31 new cases of COVID-19 today – the highest single-day increase in the province since the start of the pandemic.

Chief medical officer of health Dr. Jennifer Russell says she expects a rise in cases over the next week to 10 days as a result of New Year’s Eve gatherings.

The province reported 27 infections yesterday – a record at the time – spurring the premier to increase restrictions across the province.

New Brunswick is reporting 110 active cases of COVID-19 and says one person is in hospital with the disease.

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1:45 p.m.

Manitoba is reporting 167 new COVID-19 cases and 10 deaths. 

Premier Brian Pallister says most, if not all, of the current restrictions on business operations and public gatherings that were set to expire at the end of the week will be extended. 

He is also promising another round of aid for businesses that have been forced to close.

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12:20 p.m.

Dr. Theresa Tam says Canada has detected 11 cases of a novel coronavirus variant first found in the U.K.

That’s up from nine cases on Tuesday.

The country’s chief public health officer says no cases of any other potentially concerning variants have been found in Canada so far.

The British variant is believed to spread much more easily than other forms of the virus that causes COVID-19.

In a daily update, Tam says the appearance of new variants gives additional reasons to scrap all but completely essential travel.

According to federal figures, an average of 4,085 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 on an average day in the past week, 767 of them in intensive care.

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12:15 p.m. 

The Manitoba government says it will roll out COVID-19 vaccines in personal care homes next week. 

The province is aiming to immunize more than 1,100 people at seven care homes, covering all regions, between Monday and the next weekend. 

Premier Brian Pallister says every eligible care home resident in Manitoba will receive both doses by early March.

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11:20 a.m. 

Residents of Iqaluit’s elders centre received the territory’s first doses of the Moderna vaccine today.

Josephee Adams, 70, was the first person in Nunavut to receive the vaccine.

The vaccine was administered by long-time public health nurse Susie Pearce, a graduate of the Nunavut Arctic College nursing program.

Approximately 30 elders received the vaccine today.

Community-wide vaccination clinics are expected to roll out in four Nunavut communities starting Monday.

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11:15 a.m.

Quebec is reporting 2,641 new cases of COVID-19 and 47 more deaths attributed to the novel coronavirus, including 13 that occurred in the past 24 hours.

Health officials said today that hospitalizations jumped by 76, to 1,393, and 202 people were in intensive care, a rise of eight.

The province says it administered 6,221 doses of vaccine Tuesday, for a total of 38,984.

Quebec has reported 217,999 COVID-19 infections  and 8,488 deaths linked to the virus since the beginning of the pandemic.

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11 a.m. 

Ontario is reporting 3,266 new cases of COVID-19 today, and 37 new deaths due to the virus.

Health Minister Christine Elliott says there are 805 new cases in Toronto, 523 in Peel Region, 349 in York Region, 208 in Windsor-Essex, and 206 in Waterloo.

The province says it has conducted 51,045 tests since the last daily report.

Ontario has administered 10,350 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine since its last daily update, with 60,380 vaccines given in total.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 6, 2021

The Canadian Press