The latest news on COVID-19 developments in Canada

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

6:25 p.m.

Alberta is reporting 1,731 new COVID-19 cases today — a marked decrease from counts in the previous three days, when tallies topped 2,000. 

Saturday’s figure reached an all-time daily high of 2,433 cases, although that figure came from a larger number of tests.

Still, the test-positivity rate fell from 12 per cent Saturday to 10.3 per cent on Sunday.

Three additional deaths are also being reported.

The province says there are 648 people in Alberta hospitals with COVID-19, including 155 in intensive care.

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5:10 p.m.

Saskatchewan is reporting 238 new COVID-19 cases and one additional virus-related death.

The province’s daily pandemic update says the person who died was in their 60s and was in the Central East zone.

The update says there are 2,437 active COVID-19 cases across the province, with 167 people in hospital.

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3 p.m.

Alberta is suspending its current legislative session due to rising cases of COVID-19 in the province.

A government news release says the need to pause the spring sitting was discussed with the Official Opposition earlier Sunday.

The news release says the government house leader has advised the Speaker that the session should be paused until May 17.

Its says the suspension is to prevent further spread of COVID-19 and not due to any confirmed cases among legislature members or staff.

It says cabinet will continue to meet virtually and legislative committees will also continue their work with members participating remotely.

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1:55 p.m.

Manitoba is reporting 281 new COVID-19 cases and two additional deaths of people with the virus.

The province’s daily pandemic update says one of the deaths was a woman in her 30s from the Northern health region.

The other was a man in his 80s in the Southern health region whose case has been linked to an outbreak at the Emerson Health Centre.

It’s the second day in a row the province has said a death was linked with that outbreak, which was declared three weeks ago.

There are 167 people in Manitoba hospitals with COVID-19, 40 of whom are in intensive care.

Manitoba’s five-day test-positivity rate is 7.7 per cent provincially and 8.4 per cent in Winnipeg.

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1:05 p.m.

Health officials in Newfoundland and Labrador are reporting seven new confirmed cases of COVID-19.

There are also 11 new confirmed cases of the virus on a ship anchored in Conception Bay. This means a total of 12 crew are confirmed as COVID-19 positive. 

One crew member is in hospital, while the rest remain onboard.

There are 51 active cases of COVID-19 in the province and two people in hospital due to the virus.

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1 p.m.

Nova Scotia is reporting 133 new cases of COVID-19 today.

There are 117 cases in the province’s Central Zone, nine cases in the Eastern Zone, one case in the Northern Zone and six cases in the Western Zone.

As of today, Nova Scotia has 822 active COVID-19 infections.

There are 34 people in hospital, including six in intensive care.

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12:50 p.m.

Health officials in New Brunswick are reporting six new cases of COVID-19 and another related death today.

The death of a person in their 80s who was a resident of Pavillon Beau-Lieu, a special care home in Grand Falls, is the 37th COVID-19 related fatality in the province. 

The person died in hospital.

Three of the new cases are in the Edmundston region while the Moncton, Saint John and Bathurst regions each logged one new infection.

There are now 137 active cases of COVID-19 in the province and five patients are hospitalized, including two in intensive care.

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11 a.m.

Quebec is reporting 1,006 new COVID-19 infections today along with nine new deaths and a continuing decline in virus-related hospitalizations. 

The province says all of the deaths took place last month, with eight occurring between April 25 and 30 and one prior to April 25.

Hospitalizations decreased for a fifth straight day, as the number of patients declined by four to 574 and the number in intensive care dropped by two to 157.

The province says it administered 49,609 doses of a COVID-19 vaccine in the past 24 hours.

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10:50 a.m.

Ontario is reporting 3,732 new cases of COVID-19 today and 23 more deaths linked to the virus.

The case count is higher than Saturday’s total, though the province has also recorded a decline in both virus-related hospitalizations and admissions to intensive care units.

Provincial figures show 1,961 people are hospitalized with COVID-19, with 875 in intensive care and 615 on a ventilator.

Health Minister Christine Elliott says there are 1,198 new cases in Toronto, 797 in Peel Region, 306 in York Region, 237 in Hamilton and 232 in Durham Region.

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10:30 a.m.

Ontario will be expanding access to COVID-19 vaccines across the province starting this week. 

All adults 18 and older living in 114 specific postal codes designated as virus hot spots can book their shots through the provincial portal as of 8 a.m. on Monday. 

And bookings will be open to all residents 50 and older starting on Thursday, as well as those with high-risk health conditions. 

Health Minister Christine Elliott says the expansion is possible thanks to a more steady supply of COVID-19 vaccines. 

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 2, 2021. 

The Canadian Press