By The Canadian Press

The latest developments on COVID-19 in Canada

Sep 21, 2020 | 12:34 PM

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

6:35 p.m.

There have been another four deaths in B.C. due to COVID-19 complications.

Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says two people died in the Vancouver Coastal health region over the past three days, one in Fraser Health and one in the Northern Health region — only the second death in that area since the pandemic began.

Another 366 positive cases have been added over three days for a total of 8,208.

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There are 60 people in hospital and almost 6,000 people are considered recovered.

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4:45 p.m.

Alberta Health Services says 14 patients and four staff members have tested positive for the novel coronavirus at the Foothills Medical Centre.

One patient has died in the outbreaks linked to the cardiac care and general medicine units.

AHS says 57 staff who work in those units are in isolation.

Visits aren’t permitted on the affected units except in end-of-life situations.

AHS says contact tracing is underway and the situation is being closely monitored.

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3:58 p.m.

A new piece of medical equipment created at the University of Alberta may help doctors find a quicker and safer way to resuscitate patients who go into cardiac arrest due to COVID-19.

The novel coronavirus can create complications in the lungs, and many patients are placed on their bellies to improve ventilation.

Matthew Douma, an assistant adjunct professor of critical care medicine at the U of A, says if patients go into cardiac arrest, doctors have to turn them onto their backs to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or CPR.

He says he’s part of a group that has created a new CPR board that can be placed under patients while they are prone, with a piece that adds pressure to the chest area while medical staff do compressions on their backs.

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2:35 p.m.

Two more Manitobans have died after testing positive for COVID-19, bringing that total to 18 in the province.

The provincial government says the deaths are of a man in his 80s in the Southern health region and a woman in her 80s in the Prairie Mountain health region.

The deaths come as active case numbers continue to rise in Winnipeg.

Sixteen of the 22 new cases across the province are in the capital, and the number of active cases in Winnipeg has almost tripled since the start of September to more than 280.

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2:20 p.m.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford says he will release the province’s plan to deal with a second wave of COVID-19 tomorrow.

Ford has been promising the strategy for several weeks as virus case counts have steadily increased.

Health Minister Christine Elliott says some elements of the plan are already being implemented, including a ramp-up in testing.

She says a second wave will be more complicated to respond to because of flu season and the need to address the province’s surgery backlog.

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1:10 p.m.

A hospital in Calgary has declared an outbreak of COVID-19 on three units.

Ten patients and two staff members at the Foothills Medical Centre have tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

Alberta Health Services says all at-risk patients on the affected units are being offered testing and contact tracing is ongoing.

It says visitors to these units are limited to only end-of-life situations until further notice.

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12:55 p.m.

Religious leaders in Quebec are denouncing new restrictions on the number of congregants allowed inside houses of worship at one time amid an increase in COVID-19 cases in the province.

Quebec on Sunday tightened public health directives for indoor public and private gatherings, saying a maximum of 50 people can now attend indoor religious services.

In regions classified as orange under the province’s alert system, including Montreal and Quebec City, that limit goes down to 25.

The religious leaders say they want to be classified like theatres and concert halls, which can host as many as 250 people, even in orange zones.

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12:10 p.m.

New Brunswick public health authorities are reporting two new cases of COVID-19.

The new cases involve people in their 20s from the Moncton region.

Officials say both cases are related to travel and are linked to previous cases, and the two individuals are self-isolating.

The number of confirmed cases in New Brunswick is now 196, with 191 recovered, two deaths and three active cases.

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12 p.m.

Quebec is reporting 586 new cases of COVID-19 — a jump of more than 100 infections compared with Sunday.

The province is also reporting three additional deaths attributed to the novel coronavirus, which they said occurred between Sept. 14-19.

Health officials said today the number of people in hospital increased by 10 compared with the prior day, for a total of 148.

Quebec has reported a total of 68,128 COVID-19 infections and 5,804 deaths attributed to the virus.

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11:10 a.m.

A confirmed outbreak of COVID-19 at a student residence on the main campus of the University of Alberta means there will be no varsity athletics activities on the campus for the next 14 days.

A statement from the university in Edmonton says five members of the men’s residence of St. Joseph’s College have tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

They are isolating, along with the 14 other men living at the residence, and the university says it is sanitizing areas the five have had access to.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 21, 2020.

The Canadian Press