The latest news on COVID-19 developments in Canada for Tuesday, Jan. 26

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

6:15 p.m.

British Columbia is reporting 407 new COVID-19 cases today, bringing the total number of confirmed active infections to 4,260.

Among those, health officials say in a joint statement that 313 people are hospitalized, including 71 in intensive care.

An additional 14 people died in the past day and the B.C. death toll from COVID-19 now sits at 1,168.

In a joint statement, Health Minister Adrian Dix and provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry encourage those already doing their part to be the voice of support and encouragement for others who may be wavering in their resolve.

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6:05 p.m.

Alberta is reporting 366 new cases, for a total of 8,652 active cases.

There were 14 more deaths, bringing that total to 1,588.

There are 626 people in hospital, 108 of whom are in intensive care.

Alberta has delivered 99,814 vaccinations so far, and 10,000 Albertans have received both doses.

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3:10 p.m.

The Saskatchewan government is extending a public health order that prohibits household guests until Feb. 19.

Health officials announced 232 new cases of COVID-19 and say 14 more residents have died from the virus.

There are 208 people in hospital, with 33 in intensive care.

To date, the province says it has given more than 34, 000 vaccine shots.

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2:10 p.m.

Public health officials in New Brunswick are reporting 10 new cases of COVID-19 today.

Five are in the Edmundston region, which is under a lockdown, while there are three cases in the Saint John region and one each in the Moncton and Campbellton regions.

The Saint John and Fredericton regions move to the orange level of the province’s COVID-19 response plan tonight, an easing from the red-level restrictions now in place.

There are 339 active cases in the province and seven patients are in hospital, with three in intensive care.

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2:05 p.m.

Nova Scotia is reporting one new case of COVID-19 today.

Health officials say the new case is in the Halifax area and is related to travel outside of Atlantic Canada.

The province currently has 11 active cases, with no one in hospital.

As of Monday, 11,622 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in the province, with 2,708 people having received their second dose.

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1:45 p.m.

A group of more than 200 doctors, researchers and advocates say Ontario must take urgent action to address the rising number of deaths due to COVID-19 in long-term care.

The group says in a letter released today that the situation constitutes a humanitarian crisis.

They say the province’s nursing homes are still seeing staffing shortages, poor infection control and a delayed response to outbreaks.

The group is recommending the province bolster staffing immediately, legislate a minimum standard of daily care for residents and provide unrestricted access to family caregivers with personal protective equipment.

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1:45 p.m.

Manitoba is reporting 92 additional COVID-19 cases and five deaths. 

Case counts have been dropping in all regions in recent days, although they remain highest in the north. 

The province eased some restrictions last weekend on store openings and social gatherings.

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1:45 p.m.

Manitoba is expanding a self-isolation requirement for people arriving in the province. 

Currently, only people arriving from areas east of Terrace Bay, Ont., are required to self-isolate. 

Starting Friday, all out-of-province arrivals will have to do so.

Premier Brian Pallister says the move is needed with the spread of COVID-19 variants and the slowing of vaccine supplies.

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1:25 p.m.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on the federal government to bolster travel restrictions to prevent the spread of COVID-19 variant cases.

Ford says those restrictions should include mandatory testing at airports for all incoming international travellers.

He also wants the federal government to temporarily ban direct flights from countries where the new variants are detected, including Brazil and Portugal.

A voluntary screening program at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport began Jan. 6 and has tested more than 6,800 travellers.

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1:20 p.m.

Quebec Premier Francois Legault says he’ll likely be able to ease COVID-related restrictions for some regions of the province as of Feb. 8.

Legault says new COVID-19 cases in the province have been going down, which indicates that the government’s measures, including a nighttime curfew, are working.

But Legault says hospitalizations are still too high, especially in the Greater Montreal region.

He says he’ll make an official announcement next week.

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11:20 a.m.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says every case of COVID-19 coming in from abroad is a case too many.

He says new restrictions on travel are coming and is urging Canadians to cancel all travel plans they may have.

He says that includes cancelling travel abroad and travel to other provinces.

Trudeau notes that while the number of new cases linked to travel remains low, the bad choices of a few won’t be allowed to put others in danger.

He’s also announcing new government-backed loans for businesses to help them cope with ongoing economic fallout.

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11:15 a.m.

Quebec is reporting 1,166 new cases of COVID-19 and 57 more deaths attributed to the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, including four in the past 24 hours.

Health officials said today hospitalizations rose by three, to 1,324, following six consecutive days of decreases in the number of COVID-related patients.

The number of intensive care patients remained stable at 217.

The province says it administered 5,927 doses of vaccine yesterday and says it has used 224,879 of the 238,100 doses it has received thus far.

Quebec has reported a total of 256,002 infections and 9,577 deaths linked to COVID-19.

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10:45 a.m.

Another 1,740 COVID-19 cases have been reported in Ontario today, along with 63 more deaths related to the virus.

More than half the new cases are in the Greater Toronto Area, with 677 in Toronto itself, 320 in Peel Region and 144 in York Region.

The province says more than 30,700 tests have been completed and more than 9,700 vaccines administered since the last daily report.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 26, 2021.

The Canadian Press