The latest news on COVID-19 developments in Canada

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

6:20 p.m.

Alberta’s chief medical officer of health reported 24 new COVID-19 deaths and 463 new cases in the province today.

Dr. Deena Hinshaw said in a series of tweets that while the number of new cases and hospitalizations is down — signs she called “encouraging” — she asked people to “keep the momentum going” and follow public health guidance.

Hinshaw said there are 652 people in Alberta hospitals with COVID-19, 111 of whom are in intensive care.

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4:05 p.m.

Saskatchewan is reporting three new deaths from COVID-19 and 260 new cases today.

The province’s daily pandemic update says two of the people who died were in their 60s — one in the Far North East zone and the other in the Regina zone.

The third death was a person over 80 in the Regina zone.

The update says 33,039 vaccine doses have been administered in Saskatchewan as of yesterday, which is 101 per cent of the doses the province received.

It explains the overage is due to efficiencies in drawing extra doses from the vaccine vials.

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2:45 p.m.

Public health officials in Manitoba are reporting three additional deaths in people with COVID-19 today.

All three were in their 80s or older, and their deaths are linked with outbreaks at care homes and a health facility.

The province says that as of this morning, 222 new cases of the virus have been identified.

In total, 799 people have died from COVID-19 in Manitoba.

Officials say one previously announced death has been deleted from the total case and death counts, noting it was added to the tally in error.

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2:05 p.m.

The Nunavut government is reporting a surge of new COVID-19 cases.

The territory says in a news release there are 13 new infections, all in the Hudson Bay community of Arviat.

The community of about 2,800 had been the centre of Nunavut’s largest COVID-19 outbreak and at one point had 222 cases.

But the territory went weeks without any new diagnoses until new cases were identified on both Friday and Saturday. 

Nunavut’s Chief Public Health Officer, Dr. Michael Patterson, says in a news release that public health restrictions in Arviat are being tightened.

Patterson says all of the people with COVID-19 are asymptomatic, doing well and are isolating, and that contact tracing is underway to determine how the cases are linked.

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1:20 p.m.

Public health officials in New Brunswick are reporting 20 new cases of COVID-19 in the province today.

There are now 334 active cases in the province and there are five people in hospital including two in intensive care.

There have been 1,124 cases and 13 virus-related deaths in New Brunswick since the pandemic began.

The Edmundston region is under a lockdown as of midnight, while the Fredericton, Saint John and Moncton regions are in the red level of the province’s pandemic recovery plan. The rest of the province is at the orange level.

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1:05 p.m.

Public health officials in Newfoundland and Labrador are reporting no new confirmed cases of COVID-19 today.

The province currently has five active cases and one person is in hospital.

Since the start of the pandemic, the province has had 398 cases and four virus-related deaths.

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12:45 p.m.

Public health officials in Nova Scotia are reporting one new case of COVID-19 today.

The case is in the province’s Central Zone and involves a Dalhousie University student from Nova Scotia who lives off-campus, and is self-isolating now as required.

Nova Scotia has 19 active cases of COVID-19.

There have been 1,571 diagnoses and 65 COVID-related deaths in the province since the pandemic began.

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11:55 a.m.

Federal public Safety Minister Bill Blair says the Canadian military is sending troops to help with vaccine distribution in 32 remote Indigenous communities in northern Ontario.

Blair announced the move to help the Nishnawbe Aski Nation on Twitter this morning following a request for help from the Ontario government.

The Canadian military last week helped with inoculations in the community of Nain in Newfoundland and Labrador, including transporting people to and from vaccination sites.

Military commanders have said the Armed Forces is ready to help where required.

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11:15 a.m.

Quebec is reporting 1,457 new cases of COVID-19 as well as 41 additional deaths linked to the virus.

Twelve of the deaths occurred in the last 24 hours, while the rest happened earlier or at an unknown date.

Hospitalizations declined for the fifth straight day, down by 56 to 1,327. 

Of those, 219 patients were in intensive care, which is an increase of three.

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11 a.m.

Ontario is reporting 2,417 new cases of COVID-19 today and 50 deaths linked to the virus. 

The new case count is up slightly from  yesterday’s total of 2,359.

Public health officials in southwestern Ontario say a male teen who worked in a London-area long-term care home is among those who have recently died after contracting the virus. 

A spokesman for the Middlesex-London Health Unit says they can’t provide the exact age or any other details about him, but added he is the youngest person in the county to have died of COVID-19.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 24, 2021.

The Canadian Press

Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous version said there were 102 deaths in Ontario over the past 24 hours. There were, in fact, 50 deaths.