The latest developments on the COVID 19 pandemic in Canada

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

6:31 p.m.

B.C. is reporting 499 new cases of COVID-19 detected over the course of three days.

Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says B.C. is in the midst of a second wave, but it’s still underrepresented among the numbers of new cases across Canada.

She adds that the number of people in hospital with the illness in B.C. has stabilized and currently sits at 67 among 1,639 active cases.

Two more people have died, bringing the province’s death toll to 253.

There are now 4,028 people under public health surveillance after exposure to a known case.

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5:35 p.m.

Yukon is reporting two new cases of COVID-19 for a total of 17 so far.

Chief medical officer Dr. Brendan Hanley says lab results confirmed the diagnoses on Sunday in two people who had travelled outside Yukon.

A release from the territory says they had returned to Whitehorse and were self-isolating when they began feeling mild symptoms of the illness.

It says Yukon Communicable Disease Control has completed contact tracing and the two cases do not pose increased risk to the public.

The territory says the new cases serve as a reminder that anyone with symptoms, even if mild, should consider COVID-19 as a possibility.

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3:40 p.m.

Canada has now recorded more than 200,000 cases of COVID-19.

The latest numbers from Saskatchewan pushed the national caseload over the bleak milestone. 

The development comes just over four months after Canada reached the 100,000-case threshold.

The bulk of the country’s caseload has been concentrated in Ontario and Quebec.

But numbers have been rising in much of the country in recent weeks as Canada deals with a second wave of the global pandemic.

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2:34 p.m.

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

Dr. Jennifer Russell, the province’s chief medical officer of health, says all three are in the Campbellton health region, which is where one of two outbreaks occurred nearly two weeks ago.

Russell says the cases involve a person under the age of 19, another between the ages of 40 and 49 and another between the ages of 60 and 69.

There are currently 103 active cases of the novel coronavirus in the province, which has registered 313 cases and three deaths since the pandemic began.

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2:03 p.m.

Manitoba is reporting 80 new COVID-19 cases, with 51 in Winnipeg. 

New restrictions take effect in the greater Winnipeg area today that limit gatherings to five people and force casinos and bars to close.

Chief public health officer Dr. Brent Roussin says the aim is to ease the restrictions after two weeks if case numbers come down.

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12:20 p.m.

The Manitoba government says its plan to use doctors’ clinics as COVID-19 test sites will get underway later this week. 

The province says testing will be done after hours, when the clinics are normally closed, or in areas separate from the general public where space allows. 

Manitoba is trying to reduce long wait times at current stand-alone testing sites.

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11:30 a.m.

Quebec is reporting 1,038 new cases of COVID-19 and six more deaths attributed to the novel coronavirus.

Health officials say two of those deaths occurred in the past 24 hours, one occurred between Oct. 12 and 17, and three newly linked COVID deaths occurred at unknown dates.

Hospitalizations increased by five compared with the prior day, for a total of 532, and 92 of those patients were in intensive care, an increase of four.

Quebec has reported a total of 94,429 cases of COVID-19 and 6,044 deaths linked to the virus.

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10:45 a.m.

There are 704 new cases of COVID-19 in Ontario today, and four new deaths due to the virus.

Health Minister Christine Elliott says 244 cases are in Toronto, 168 in Peel Region, 103 in York Region and 51 in Ottawa.

Ontario also reported 74 new COVID-19 cases related to schools, including at least 48 among students.

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10:30 a.m.

Ontario’s chief medical officer of health says kids should not participate in traditional Halloween activities in the province’s COVID-19 hot spots.

Dr. David Williams says that he is recommending against sending children out trick-or-treating in Ottawa, Toronto, Peel Region, and York Region.

He says given the high rates of transmission in the areas people should consider virtual alternatives.

Williams says it also critical that families not travel outside of their neighbourhoods to celebrate Halloween.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 19, 2020.

The Canadian Press