The latest news on COVID-19 developments in Canada

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

8:30 p.m.

Yukon has announced three new confirmed cases of COVID-19 and one probable infection in the territory.

There are now 13 active cases in Yukon for a total case count of 96 since the pandemic began.

The territory has only recently lifted some restrictions for restaurants and on gatherings with high vaccination rates for both doses.

A statement from territorial health officer Dr. Brendan Hanley says two people recently diagnosed had to be medevaced to hospitals outside the territory for care.

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6:25 p.m.

B.C. is reporting 153 new cases of COVID-19 as its vaccination rate hovers just below 75 per cent for eligible adults.

Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says 74.9 per cent of all eligible adults have been vaccinated, while 72.8 per cent of people 12 years and older have received a first dose.

The province also reported four new deaths, bringing the toll to 1,729.

Henry says the province appears to be in a safe position to continue with its reopening plan.

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6 p.m.

Alberta is reporting its lowest active case count of COVID-19 since October.

There are about 3,810 active infections in the province.

Of those, 178 cases are new today.

The province is also reporting six more deaths linked to COVID-19.

There are 306 people in hospital because of the virus and 81 of those patients are in intensive care.

The province has also moved up vaccine bookings for those who received a first dose in April, and they can now book their second shot.

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3:55 p.m.

Saskatchewan is reporting 77 new cases of COVID-19 today.

One person in their 70s has died.

There were 129 more recoveries, leaving the province with 902 active cases.

The seven-day average of new COVID-19 cases in the province is 79.

The province also reported 101 people in hospital, including 19 patients in intensive care.

Sixty-eight per cent of Saskatchewan adults have now received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine.

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3:10 p.m.

Ontario COVID-19 cases, positivity rates and hospitalizations have all dropped sharply in recent months.

New modelling data suggest those rates should continue to decline in the immediate future.

However, the Delta variant is more transmissible and may be more dangerous.

As a result, it will likely be the dominant form of the virus this summer and expert say it is critical to control the spread of the variant.

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2:45 p.m.

Nova Scotia is reporting 15 new cases of COVID-19 today.

Health officials have identified 12 cases in the Halifax area and three in the province’s eastern zone, which includes Cape Breton.

There are 147 known active cases of novel coronavirus, with 10 people in hospital, including six in intensive care.

As of Wednesday, 663,840 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered, with 46,630 people having received their booster shot.

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2:35 p.m.

Moderna will ship 7.1 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine to Canada next week, Procurement Minister Anita Anand says.

Moderna confirmed Wednesday that it would be delivering another seven million doses this month, with the supply coming for the first time from its production lines in the United States, instead of Europe. 

It had not confirmed the specific delivery schedule.

Anand says Moderna will send 2.9 million doses in the middle of next week, and the remaining 4.2 million by the end of the week. 

It usually takes a couple of days for the vaccines to be repackaged and redistributed to provinces and territories once they arrive en masse at the Innomar Strategies warehouse near Toronto.

With Pfizer’s 2.4 million doses, that means Canada will get 9.5 million doses between June 14 and 19, the largest single week of deliveries by far.

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2:05 p.m.

Newfoundland and Labrador is announcing five new confirmed cases of COVID-19 — three of them connected to a cluster in the Western Health region.

All three of those cases involve people under 20 years of age and bring the number of confirmed cases in the cluster to 35.

Another case in the Eastern Health region is linked to travel and one in the Central Health region is a contact of a previous case.

The number of active cases has fallen to 51 due to seven new recoveries and there is no one in hospital due to COVID-19.

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1:35 p.m.

Manitoba is reporting 247 new cases of COVID-19 and six more deaths. 

The five-day test positivity rate is 11.1 per cent provincially. 

There are 316 Manitobans in hospital, including 30 who are receiving care in hospitals outside of the province. 

Two of those patients in intensive care were transported Wednesday to Ontario facilities in London and Thunder Bay.

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12:45 p.m.

Ontario is speeding up its delivery of second COVID-19 vaccine doses for residents of hot spots where the Delta variant of the virus is spreading.

The province says residents who live in seven hot spots and got their first dose on or before May 9 can now book an accelerated second shot as of Monday.

The government also encourages residents of those areas who haven’t had their first doses to get one.

The hot spots that will be prioritized are Halton, Peel, Porcupine, Toronto, Waterloo, York and Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph.

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12:40 p.m.

Manitoba has unveiled its reopening plan that will see the province loosen public health restrictions as more people get vaccinated against COVID-19.

The government’s plan focuses on four reopening categories: gatherings, travel, shopping and dining.

The first immunization target is to have over 70 per cent of Manitobans 12 and older with a first dose and over 25 per cent with a second dose by Canada Day.

If that happens, the province says it will loosen some capacity restrictions on businesses and other facilities. More gradual lifting of restrictions will be tied to vaccination rates by the August long weekend and Labour Day in September.

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12:35 p.m.

New Brunswick is reporting three new cases of COVID-19 today.

Health officials are reporting one infection in each of the Moncton, Bathurst and Fredericton health regions.

Meanwhile, the province says 72.8 per cent of residents aged 12 and older have now received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.

Officials say another 15,365 people need to receive their first dose to reach the 75 per cent mark, which is necessary to begin loosening pandemic restrictions.

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11:10 a.m.

Canada’s COVID-19 infections continue to plummet, with the seven-day average of new cases sitting at 1,611 as of Wednesday.

The number represents the lowest level seen since Sept. 30, 2020.

It’s down almost one-third from just a week ago, and down 82 per cent from the third wave peak of more than 8,800 new cases per day on average in the third week of April.

Canada’s rate of new infections also fell below the United States Thursday for the first time in two months. 

Canada’s daily average rate of new infections surpassed the U.S. rate for the first time in the pandemic on April 9 when Canada recorded 206 new cases for every one million people, compared to 205 south of the border.

Canada’s infection rate in the third wave peaked less than 10 days later at 233 cases. 

On June 9, it recorded a rate of 43 new infections for every million people, while the U.S. recorded a rate of 46 cases per million.

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11 a.m.

11 a.m.

Quebec is reporting 189 new cases of COVID-19 today and two more deaths attributed to the virus, none of which occurred in the past 24 hours.

Health authorities say hospitalizations dropped by six, to 251, while the number of patients in intensive care rose by four to 64.

The province says 84,936 doses of COVID-19 vaccine were administered Wednesday.

About 67.2 per cent of Quebecers have received a first dose.

Later today, Health Minister Christian Dubé will be presenting his government’s plan to catch-up on the surgeries that had been delayed because of the pandemic.

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11 a.m.

Nunavut is reporting one new case of COVID-19 today in the capital city of Iqaluit.

There are two active virus infections in the territory, both in Iqaluit.

Premier Joe Savikataaq says contact tracing is ongoing for the case reported today.

A COVID-19 outbreak was declared in Iqaluit in mid-April and 253 patients have recovered in the city to date.

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10:50 a.m.

Ontario reports there are 590 new cases of COVID-19 in the province and 11 more deaths linked to the virus.

Health Minister Christine Elliott says there are 130 new cases in Peel Region, 114 in Toronto, and 61 in Waterloo.

The Ministry of Health says 516 people are hospitalized with the virus — 450 in intensive care and 291 on a ventilator.

Ontario says 182,350 doses of a COVID-19 vaccine were administered since Wednesday’s report for a total of more than 10.6 million.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 10, 2021.

The Canadian Press

Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous version said Canada’s latest seven-day average of new COVID-19 cases was reported as of today. It is, in fact, reported as of Wednesday.