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 is reporting 351 new COVID-19 cases and four new deaths associated with the virus.

Dr. Deena Hinshaw, the province’s chief medical health officer, encouraged people in a tweet to “continue to make safe, responsible choices” as Alberta relaxes some restrictions that were imposed in December.

Starting tomorrow, in-person dining can resume in restaurants, one-on-one fitness training with an instructor can take place, and some sports activities can resume for youth.

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5 p.m.

Ontario is logging its first case of the COVID-19 variant that originated in Brazil.

Toronto Public Health identified the case today, along with an instance of the virus variant first found in South Africa.

The city says the patient identified with the variant from Brazil recently returned from travelling to that country and is now in hospital.

It says the diagnosis of the variant originating in South Africa involves a patient with no recent history of travel.

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4:10 p.m.

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

The latest diagnosis involves a female in the Eastern Health region under 19 years of age.

The source of the infection is under investigation, with health officials saying there will be an update.

The province also noted that risks of exposure at the Bigs Restaurant in Mount Pearl, N.L. — which earlier had an exposure warning for January 21st to February 4th — is now deemed “very low.”

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3 p.m.

Saskatchewan has recorded three new deaths among COVID-19 patients, as well as 194 new cases of the virus.

The province says in its daily COVID-19 update that due to weather issues, the number of vaccines it has administered this weekend is lower than planned.

The entire province is now under an extreme cold warning from Environment and Climate Change Canada.

Saskatchewan reports that 774 COVID-19 vaccine doses were administered yesterday, and that 95per cent of the doses it has received have been administered to date.

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2 p.m.

Manitoba has 80 new cases of COVID-19 as of this morning and four new deaths.

Provincial officials report that all four of the people who died were in the Winnipeg health region and were over 70.

The province says there are now 3,256 active COVID-19 cases in Manitoba.

There are 263 people in hospital, 38 of whom are in intensive care.

The current five-day COVID-19 test positivity rate is 6.1 per cent provincially and 3.8 per cent in Winnipeg.

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12:30 p.m.

Nova Scotia has dropped to just eight active cases of COVID-19, with just one new infection being reported today.

The case is in the province’s central zone and is related to travel outside of Atlantic Canada, with the patient currently self-isolating.

Premier Stephen McNeil says it’s good to see the low number, but he cautioned people to keep Super Bowl gatherings small.

Nova Scotians are also being strongly encouraged to seek asymptomatic COVID-19 testing, particularly if they have had several social interactions even within their own circles.

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12:20 p.m.

Public Health officials in New Brunswick are reporting seven new cases of COVID-19 today, with the total number of active cases falling to 203 across the province.

They also say an outbreak of COVID-19 at an Edmundston seniors home has been brought under control.

The provincial officials say in a news release the outbreak began on Jan. 20 at Le Pavillon Le Royer, following a confirmed COVID-19 case at the facility.

In total, the outbreak consisted of only one case, and the release says all staff and residents of the facility were re-tested several times to confirm the end of the spread.

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—11:15 a.m.

More than 10,000 Quebecers have now died from COVID-19.

The province reached the sobering figure today as it reported 32 additional deaths due to the pandemic, for a total of 10,031.

Quebec also passed the 270,000-case mark with the addition of 1,081 new infections.

Hospitalizations declined by 19 to 963, with 158 people in intensive care, which is one less than the day before.

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11 a.m.

Ontario is reporting 1,489 new COVID-19 infections today along with 22 new deaths linked to the virus.

Hospitalizations in the province fell below 1,000, with 926 people receiving treatment for COVID-19.

Provincial data shows 335 of those patients are in intensive care and 233 are on ventilators.

The latest figures come a day before schools are set to reopen across much of the province and the government prepares to formally unveil plans for gradually easing restrictions on businesses.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 7, 2021.

The Canadian Press