The latest news on COVID-19 developments in Canada (all times eastern):
6:25 p.m.
Health officials in Alberta are reporting 352 new cases of COVID-19 and 16 more deaths from the virus.
The province has 5,501 active cases, with 397 people in hospital, including 71 in intensive care.
Since the pandemic began almost a year ago, a total of 1,744 people have died from the illness in Alberta.
Dr. Deena Hinshaw, the province’s chief medical officer of health, says more than 135,000 doses of the vaccine have been administered and more than 42,000 Albertans had been fully immunized with a double dose.
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2:40 p.m.
Saskatchewan is reporting 114 new cases of COVID-19.
Health officials say there are 187 people in hospital, with 24 patients with the virus in intensive care.
The province says it has given more than 46,000 shots of vaccine.
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2:25 p.m.
Newfoundland and Labrador is reporting 100 new cases of COVID-19 today, a major jump in infections.
Dr. Janice Fitzgerald, the chief medical officer of health, says there are now 210 active cases in the province.
She says 74 of the new cases are people under 20 years old.
All but one of the cases are in the St. John’s area.
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2:10 p.m.
Ontario’s minister of long-term care is apologizing for an earlier statement that claimed all residents in the province’s long-term care homes had received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
The province had promised to achieve that goal by Feb. 10, and this morning the ministry issued a statement stating it had met the deadline.
But a spokeswoman for Long-term Care Minister Merrilee Fullerton issued a statement this afternoon that says there are still a few homes where residents have not received a first dose of the vaccine.
Krystle Caputo says “a miscommunication” was to blame for the error, which the government “regrets.”
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2 p.m.
Ontario’s March break will happen in April this year.
Education Minister Stephen Lecce announced the postponement today.
Lecce says the move is an effort to curb COVID-19 spread as students return to in-class learning.
He says the decision was made on the advice of the province’s chief medical officer and other health officials.
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1:35 p.m.
Manitoba is reporting 90 new COVID-19 cases and three additional deaths.
The province has seen encouraging numbers in recent weeks and the health-care system is starting to see the effects.
Health officials say the number of people with all conditions in intensive care has dropped below 100 this week.
That’s still above pre-pandemic capacity but down sharply from a spike in the fall.
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1:20 p.m.
The Manitoba government is planning to buy some COVID-19 vaccines without going through the federal government.
Premier Brian Pallister says Manitoba has signed a deal with Providence Therapeutics to supply two million doses of its Canadian-made vaccine, which is currently in clinical trials.
Pallister says he’s not expecting any opposition from Ottawa.
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12:40 p.m.
Nunavut is reporting three new cases of COVID-19, bringing the territory’s active case count to nine.
All of Nunavut’s active cases are in Arviat, a community of about 2,800 people.
Chief public health officer Dr. Michael Patterson says the infected individuals are isolating and doing well.
Patterson also says a vaccine clinic scheduled to run until Saturday in Arviat will go ahead.
Arviat remains under a strict lockdown, with schools and non-essential businesses closed and travel suspended.
To date, 6,185 people in Nunavut have received first doses of the Moderna vaccine.
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12:30 p.m.
Nova Scotia is reporting two new cases of COVID-19 and now has 11 active cases.
Health officials say the new cases were identified in the Halifax area and are related to previously reported cases.
As of Wednesday, the province says it had administered 21,032 doses of COVID-19 vaccine, with 6,272 people having received their required second dose.
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12:10 p.m.
The military commander overseeing Ottawa’s vaccine distribution says the slowdown on Pfizer vaccine deliveries will end next week
Maj.-Gen. Dany Fortin says the company has confirmed it will deliver almost 1.8 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to Canada over the next four weeks.
That includes 403,000 doses next week, 475,000 doses the week after that, and 444,000 doses in each of the first two weeks of March.
Moderna’s next shipment, however, will be only two-thirds of what was previously expected the week of Feb. 22.
The company will ship 168,000 doses instead of 249,000.
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11:15 a.m.
New Brunswick is reporting two new cases of COVID-19 and one more COVID-related death.
Chief medical officer of health Dr. Jennifer Russell says a person in their 80s died at the Villa des Jardins long-term care home in Edmundston.
The two new cases involve one person in the Moncton region and one in the Edmundston region.
Officials say the province has 161 active reported cases and six people in hospital with the disease, including two in intensive care.
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11:10 a.m.
Quebec is reporting 1,121 new cases of COVID-19 and 37 more deaths attributed to the novel coronavirus, including eight in the past 24 hours.
Health officials say hospitalizations dropped by 44 to 874, and 143 people were in intensive care, a drop of five.
The province says 5,409 doses of vaccine were administered Wednesday, for a total of 272,332.
Quebec has reported a total of 273,847 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 10,149 deaths linked to the virus.
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10:30 a.m.
Ontario says there are 945 new cases of COVID-19 in the province, but public health officials warn that number is underreported.
Health Minister Christine Elliott says there are 258 new cases in Peel Region, 116 in York Region and 112 in Toronto.
A spokeswoman for the ministry says that as Toronto continues to migrate its case counts to the provincial database, Ontario’s daily tally is smaller than it actually is.
Ontario is also reporting 14 more deaths linked to the virus.
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8:45 a.m.
Newfoundland and Labrador’s chief electoral officer is calling on authorities to postpone the vote in Saturday’s provincial election.
In a letter sent to party leaders, Bruce Chaulk says the province’s chief medical officer of health should use her powers to delay the election.
His plea comes as provincial health authorities reported a record 53 new cases of COVID-19 Wednesday.
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7 a.m.
Ontario says the first round of COVID-19 vaccines in all of the province’s long-term care homes has been completed.
The Ministry of Long-Term Care says more than 62,000 residents have received at least one dose of vaccine.
It also says that more than 34,000 residents have received their second dose.
Ontario had committed to vaccinating every eligible resident who wanted a shot by Wednesday.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 11, 2021.
The Canadian Press
