The latest news on COVID-19 developments in Canada

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

9:30 p.m.

The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs says public health officials have found seven probable cases of a contagious variant of COVID-19 in Pauingassi First Nation. 

It says the samples have been sent to the National Microbiology Lab in Winnipeg to confirm whether they are the variant that was first discovered in the U.K. 

Members of the Armed Forces were deployed to Pauingassi a week ago after cases there spiked.

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6 p.m.

Alberta’s chief medical health officer is reporting 15 new COVID-19 deaths and 305 additional cases.

The deaths that Dr. Deena Hinshaw announced in a series of tweets on Saturday bring the province’s total since the pandemic began to 1,175.

There are 5,271 active cases in Alberta, with 359 people in hospital and 64 of those receiving intensive care.

Hinshaw says Alberta’s test positivity rate is 3.8 per cent.

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3:20 p.m.

Saskatchewan is reporting 244 new cases of COVID-19 today and four additional deaths in people who tested positive for the virus.

All of the new deaths were in people over 70.

Health officials report in Saturday’s pandemic update that 1,950 COVID-19 cases are active in Saskatchewan, with 187 people in hospital and 20 in intensive care.

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3 p.m.

Manitoba public health officials, along with the chief and council of the Cross Lake First Nation, say they’re seeing a trend of “concerning case numbers” in the northern community.

Effective Saturday, a new public health order states that all Cross Lake residents must stay in their homes or in immediately adjacent areas.

Residents are only allowed to leave in order to get essential supplies, access health services or go to work at an essential business.

A statement posted Friday on the community’s website said there were 45 active cases there, including 15 involving children.

The province is reporting one new COVID-19 death — a man in his 80s in the Winnipeg health region — and 99 new cases on Saturday.

This is the first weekend of relaxed public health orders in Manitoba after a number of restrictions that have been in place since November were lifted Friday.

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2:15 p.m.

Officials in Prince Edward Island say a previously reported case of COVID-19 was caused by the variant of the virus first identified in the United Kingdom.

Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Heather Morrison says the case involves a man in his 20s who has a history of international travel.

The case was first identified on Feb. 4 and the individual is in self-isolation.

With P.E.I’s announcement, all 10 provinces in Canada have now identified cases of the U.K.-based variant of the novel coronavirus.

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2:10 p.m.

The Nunavut government is reporting five new cases in the territory’s only active COVID-19 outbreak.

There have been 264 cases of the novel coronavirus in Arviat since the first case there in November, and nine were active on Saturday.

Arviat has been under strict lockdown, and a clinic to administer second doses of COVID-19 vaccines is scheduled to wrap up this weekend.

Rankin Inlet is the next community to receive second doses, which are scheduled to begin Monday.

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2 p.m.

Public health officials in Newfoundland and Labrador are reporting 26 new cases of COVID-19 following a recent surge of infections in the St. John’s region.

The new cases bring the province’s active infection count to 285.

Officials reported yesterday the outbreak has been caused by the variant of  COVID-19 first identified in the United Kingdom.

Currently, no one is in hospital due to the disease.

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1 p.m.

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

Officials say both the cases are related to travel outside the Atlantic region.

The province now has 10 active cases of the disease.

One person is currently in intensive care due to the novel coronavirus.

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11:45 a.m.

Health officials in New Brunswick are reporting 16 new cases of COVID-19.

Fifteen of the cases have been identified in the Edmundston region, while one case was found in the Moncton area.

Active COVID-19 diagnoses in the province now sit at 160.

There are currently seven people hospitalized because of the virus, three of whom are in intensive care.

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11:35 a.m.

The federal government is diverting some of Nova Scotia’s COVID-19 vaccines to Canada’s North.

Provincial Chief medical officer of health Dr. Robert Strang says Ottawa will be reallocating a portion of the upcoming delivery of Moderna vaccines to the country’s northern territories.

The diversion means Nova Scotia will receive 3,000 of the vaccines instead of the originally planned 5,900.

Nova Scotia is also expecting a reduction in its March shipment of vaccines, though Strang says officials are waiting for confirmation from the federal government.

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11:30 a.m.

Quebec is reporting 1,049 new COVID-19 cases today, while the overall death toll rose by 33.

The province says five of the most recent fatalities came in the past 24 hours, with 21 occurring between Feb. 6 and Feb. 11 and seven taking place before Feb. 6.

The number of virus-related hospitalizations decreased by 37 since the last daily report and currently stands at 812. 

The number of patients in intensive care declined by seven to 130.

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11 a.m.

Ontario is reporting a slight increase in daily COVID-19 cases today. 

The province logged 1,300 new infections over the past 24 hours, along with 19 new deaths linked to the virus. 

Case counts have hovered closer to the 1,000 mark in recent days. 

Yesterday the province announced that 27 of its public health units could move back to Ontario’s colour-coded pandemic response plan as of Tuesday, allowing them to ease public health restrictions based on local case numbers.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 13, 2021.

The Canadian Press