The latest news on COVID-19 developments in Canada

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

6:55 p.m.

Alberta is reporting 1,183 new COVID-19 cases and one additional death.

There are 942 new infections linked to variants of concern,, and the province’s chief medical health officer says 50.5 per cent of active cases are those variants.

Dr. Deena Hinshaw says 376 people are currently in hospital with COVID-19, with 90 of them in intensive care.

Alberta’s test-positivity rate is now at 7.9 per cent.

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4:30 p.m.

Elections New Brunswick is suspending municipal elections in parts of the province’s northwest because of a lockdown that began today.

The elections, which had been planned for May 10th, are suspended in the area until the lockdown ends.

Legislation was recently passed to allow the municipal electoral officer to pause nominations and voting in a particular zone.

Municipalities where elections are suspended include Edmundston, Upper-Madawaska, Lac Baker, Rivière-Verte, Sainte-Anne-de-Madawaska and Saint Leonard.

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4:05 p.m.

Saskatchewan is reporting 321 new COVID-19 cases and one additional death today.

The person who died was in their 60s and was in the Central East zone.

The province says it continues to set new records for the number of vaccines administered in a single day, reporting 13,170 new immunizations.

It says half of Saskatchewan residents who are 50 and older have now received their first dose.

Since Friday, Saskatchewan’s booking system eligibility was expanded to everyone 55 and up.

In Regina today, the city’s drive-thru vaccine clinic is administering Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines to residents between the ages of 51 and 54 on a first-come, first-served basis.

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2:50 p.m.

Adults living and working in Whistler, B.C., will be able to receive their COVID-19 vaccination starting tomorrow.

The move comes as Vancouver Coastal Health works to limit the spread of the virus in the ski resort community.

The health authority says in a statement that the program comes in response to increasing COVID-19 transmission recorded in the community.

It says the Howe Sound health area has the highest rate of COVID-19 of any local health area in the province, with the majority of these cases residing in the Whistler community.

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2:30 p.m.

New Brunswick is reporting nine new cases of COVID-19 today and a total of 148 active infections in the province.

The new cases include five in the Edmundston region, where large parts are under a full lockdown as of today.

Health officials say four of the five cases are contacts of previously confirmed cases, and the other one is under investigation.

The remaining cases in the province include two in the Saint John area, and one each in the Moncton and Fredericton regions.

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2:20 p.m.

Manitoba is reporting 112 new COVID-19 cases.

No new deaths are being reported today, leaving the provincial total since the pandemic began at 949.

Manitoba’s daily COVID-19 update says the five-day test positivity rate is now 5.9 per cent provincially and 5.7 per cent in Winnipeg.

The update also warns of possible exposures to the B.1.1.7 variant of concern on several Winnipeg Transit routes between April 2 and April 6.

Health officials report there are 1,312 active COVID-19 cases in the province, with 136 people in hospital and 31 patients in intensive care.

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11:55 a.m.

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

Four of the cases are in the Halifax area, with two related to travel outside Atlantic Canada and the other two being close contacts of previously reported cases.

The remaining case is in the eastern health zone and is related to travel outside the region.

Health officials are reporting a total of 40 active COVID-19 infections in the province.

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11:30 a.m.

Ontario is doubling the number of pharmacies involved in the provincial vaccine effort. 

The province says 700 new pharmacies in COVID-19 hot spots will start offering the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine as soon as this coming week, bringing the total number to 1,400. 

It says the expansion will help vaccinate those 55 or older, who are currently the only ones cleared to receive the AstraZeneca shot. 

The province says it hopes to add another 100 pharmacies to the vaccine effort by the end of the month.

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11:20 a.m.

Quebec is reporting 1,535 new COVID-19 cases today as well as five additional deaths linked to the virus.

Two people died in the last 24 hours, while the other deaths occurred earlier or at an unknown date.

Hospitalizations jumped by 25 to 608, with 139 patients in intensive care.

The province also says it gave 59,447 doses of vaccine on Saturday.

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11:05 a.m.

A hospital at the centre of a COVID-19 outbreak in northwestern New Brunswick says it is currently treating 13 patients with the infection.

The Edmundston Regional Hospital says seven of those patients are in its nine bed intensive care unit, with five of those patients on respirators.

So far the hospital has transferred two patients to a hospital in Fredericton.

The Edmundston and the Upper Madawaska region went under full lockdown as of midnight after 15 of 19 new COVID-19 cases announced in the province on Saturday were identified in the area.

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10:45 a.m.

Ontario has set a new single-day high for new COVID-19 cases in the province. 

Government figures show 4,456 new infections over the last 24 hours, along with 21 new virus-related deaths.

The previous new daily record stood at just over 4,200 and was reached on Friday. 

Health Minister Christine Elliott says there were 1,353 new cases in Toronto, a sharp jump of nearly 400 from the day before. 

There are 1,513 patients currently in Ontario hospitals due to COVID-19, with 605 in intensive care and 382 on a ventilator.   

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 11, 2021.

The Canadian Press