The latest news on COVID-19 developments in Canada

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

6 p.m.

Alberta is reporting 621 new COVID-19 cases and six additional deaths.

Dr. Deena Hinshaw, the province’s chief medical officer of health, says in a tweet that the cases were identified out of approximately 9,500 tests, for a test-positivity rate of 6.7 per cent.

There are 617 people with COVID-19 in Alberta’s hospitals, with 164 of them in intensive care.

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4 p.m.

Saskatchewan is reporting 180 new COVID-19 cases and two additional deaths of virus patients.

The province’s daily pandemic update says both people who died were in the South Central zone — one was a person in their 50s and the other was 80 or over.

The update says 1,770 COVID-19 cases are considered active in Saskatchewan.

There are 120 people with COVID-19 in the province’s hospitals, with 27 patients in intensive care.

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1:40 p.m.

Manitoba is reporting 476 new COVID-19 cases and six deaths.

The percentage of people testing positive, averaged over five days, has continued to climb.

It stands at 14.3 per cent provincially and 16.8 per cent in Winnipeg.

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1:15 p.m.

Health officials in Nova Scotia are reporting one new COVID-19-related death in the province today as they announce 64 new cases of the disease.

Officials say a woman in her 60s in the central region has died, bringing the number of virus-related deaths in the province to 77.

Officials are announcing community spread of COVID-19 in both the central region  and Sydney, saying they will be increasing testing in “areas of concern” including Bridgewater, New Minas and Kentville.

Nova Scotia is also marking an immunization milestone today, administering its 500,000th dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.

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1 p.m.

Half of Canada’s population has now received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. 

The latest federal figures showed just over 18 million people had received a shot as of Friday evening. 

But updated figures from Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick have added nearly 300,000 people to that tally, pushing the number who have gotten their first jab past 19 million.

Ontario led the way, administering 190,129 doses on Friday. 

Despite the milestone, federal figures show less than five per cent of the national population is fully vaccinated against the virus. 

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12:50 p.m.

Newfoundland and Labrador is reporting four new confirmed cases of COVID-19 today.

Three of the cases have been identified in the Central Health region, while the fourth was found in the Western Health region.

Starting today, the part of the province stretching from Lewisporte to Summerford moves to alert Level 4, the second highest alert level in the province, to address a cluster of 14 presumed and confirmed infections in the central region.

The rest of the province remains at Alert level 2.

Newfoundland now has 65 active cases of the disease and is reporting nine new recoveries.

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12:45 p.m.

Manitoba’s premier is asking the United States government to let states ship COVID-19 vaccines to provinces.

Brian Pallister says he’s written to the White House about the issue, but is still waiting for a response. 

He says North Dakota has excess vaccines it is willing to share but has not received permission to export them to Manitoba.

He says Manitoba has trucks with freezers that could make the one-hour trip to the border and collect doses if needed.

Pallister’s appeal comes as the province grapples with a third wave of COVID-19 infections that threatens to overwhelm the health-care system.

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11:55 a.m.

Health officials in New Brunswick are reporting two new cases of COVID-19 today.

Both new infections were identified in the Fredericton region and involve one person in their 20s and one in their 30s.

Officials say both cases are contacts of previously reported infections.

The province now has 122 active cases of the disease with six patients in hospital, two of whom are in intensive care.

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11:30 a.m.

Quebec is reporting505 new cases of COVID-19 today, the lowest figure recorded in several months.

The province is also reporting seven new deaths linked to the virus, including one in the past 24 hours and four that occurred between May 15 and 20.

Hospitalizations and admissions to intensive care units declined by 13 and three, respectively, with the number of patients in hospital now standing at 424 and the number in an ICU at 103.

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11 a.m. 

Some public health measures are easing in Ontario today, including rules that previously closed outdoor recreational facilities and limited visitors to long-term care homes. 

Facilities such as golf courses, tennis courts and skate parks are open again as of today, though team sports and classes are still banned. 

And residents at long-term care homes can now visit with up to two friends or family members at a time, as long as the visits take place outdoors and involve both masks and physical distancing.

The province says up to five people from different households can now gather outside. 

The changes come as Ontario reports 1,794 new cases of COVID-19 and 20 new virus-related deaths. 

The Ministry of Health says 1,207 people are in hospital, with 706 patients in intensive care and 504 on a ventilator.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 22, 2021.

The Canadian Press