The latest news on COVID-19 developments in Canada on Thursday, June 17, 2021

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

8:55 p.m.

Yukon health officials are reporting nine new cases of COVID-19, bringing the active infections in the territory to 54.

They say eight of the nine new cases are in Whitehorse and one is in a rural community.

The territory now has a total of 145 confirmed cases.

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7:15 p.m.

British Columbia health officials are reporting 120 cases of COVID-19 for a total of 146,794 infections.

The province is also reporting one fatality for a total of 1,739 deaths.

More than 76 per cent of those eligible have received their first dose of a vaccine while 768,008 second shots have been given.

Health officials say studies show there is good protection from all the vaccines, and in B.C. their advice hasn’t changed — two doses of whatever vaccine you get are safe and effective.

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5:40 p.m.

Alberta is reporting 150 new cases of COVID-19 and two new deaths.

The province says there are 242 people in hospital with the virus, with 58 of them in intensive care.

There are 2,471 active cases provincewide and, of those, 1,796 are the more contagious variants of concern.

The province says 136 of the new cases are also variants of concern.

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3:40 p.m.

Saskatchewan is reporting 94 new cases of COVID-19 today, and no new deaths.

Seventy more people have recovered, leaving the province with 752 active cases.

The province is also reporting 87 people in hospital, including nine in intensive care.

Currently, the province says 69 per cent of Saskatchewan adults have received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine.

If 70 per cent of adults get their first vaccine by this Sunday, then the province will be able to proceed with the third stage of its reopening road map on July 11.

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3:25 p.m.

New Brunswick health officials are reporting four new cases of COVID-19, all of whom are contacts of previously confirmed cases.

Three of the cases are in the Fredericton area, and the other is in the Bathurst region.

The province has 61 active cases with six people in hospital, including two in intensive care.

Dr. Jennifer Russell, chief medical officer of health, is urging New Brunswickers to get their second dose of COVID-19 vaccine once they are eligible, noting that people who are not vaccinated will be at highest risk for having severe symptoms.

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1:45 p.m.

Newfoundland and Labrador has one new confirmed case of COVID-19.

The case involves a woman in the central health region between 20 and 39 years of age.

The province now has 32 active cases.

Health officials say two people are in hospital as a result of the infection.

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1:40 p.m.

Manitoba is reporting 183 new COVID-19 cases and one death. 

However, seven earlier cases were removed due to a data correction, bringing the net increase to 176. 

Twenty COVID-19 patients remain in intensive care units in other provinces in order to free up bed space.

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12:30 p.m.

Anyone in Ontario who got their first shot of an mRNA vaccine on or before May 9 can re-book for an earlier second dose starting Monday.

People in Delta variant hot spots who received first shots on or before May 30 can move up their second shots next Wednesday.     

Health units covering Toronto, Peel, Halton, Porcupine, Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph, Waterloo and York, Hamilton, Simcoe-Muskoka and Durham are considered hot spots for the more infectious variant.

All other adults who received their first mRNA shots on May 10 or later can move up their second shots starting the week of June 28.

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12:15 p.m.

Nova Scotia is reporting 14 new cases of COVID-19.

Health officials say 12 cases have been identified in the Halifax area, while one is in the province’s eastern zone and the remaining case is in the western zone.

The province has 97 known active cases with six people in hospital, including three patients in intensive care.

As of Wednesday, 735,008 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered, with 66,248 people having received their booster shot.

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11:10 a.m.

Quebec is reporting 161 new COVID-19 cases and one more death attributed to the virus.

Health officials say there has been a drop of 14 COVID-19 patients in hospital, to 178, with four fewer patients requiring intensive care, for a total for 41.

The province also added 99,580 vaccine doses to its tally, meaning more than seven million shots have been administered.

Authorities say more than 79 per cent of those who are 12 and older have received one dose and 14.8 per cent have received two doses.

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10:30 a.m.

Ontario reports there are 370 new cases of COVID-19 in the province and seven more deaths linked to the virus.

Health Minister Christine Elliott says 67 of the new cases are in Toronto, 57 in Waterloo and 47 in Peel Region.

The Ministry of Health says 397 people are in hospital because of the virus — 362 in intensive care and 232 on ventilators.

Ontario says a record of more than 210,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered since yesterday’s report.

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10 a.m.

The Canadian government is investing up to $29 million to support the domestic production of respirators and surgical masks in order to increase the country’s capacity to deal with future pandemics.

The funding is part of a $38.7-million project with Montreal-based Meltech Innovation Canada Inc., which specializes in the production of safety products and personal protective equipment.

Minister of Innovation François-Philippe Champagne says the funding will help ensure Canadian front-line health-care workers continue to have a reliable supply of the equipment they need, while creating jobs in Quebec.

Champagne says Meltech Innovation will establish a new factory in the Montreal area to manufacture specialized fabric needed to produce respirators and surgical masks.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Thursday, June 17, 2021. 

The Canadian Press