The latest news on COVID-19 developments in Canada for Saturday, May 29

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

6:35 p.m.

Alberta is reporting that the number of patients with COVID-19 in the province’s hospitals has fallen to 478.

There were 517 virus patients in hospitals the day before, and the number has been trending down.

The government has said if there are fewer than 500 people in hospital two weeks from now, at the same time the latest vaccinations take full effect, it will lift an array of health restrictions on June 10.

Alberta is also reporting 406 additional COVID-19 cases and eight new deaths linked to the virus.

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3:50 p.m.

Saskatchewan is reporting 179 new COVID-19 cases and one additional virus-related death.

The province’s daily pandemic update says the person who died was in their 50s and was from the Regina zone.

The update says Saskatchewan has now passed 700,000 vaccines administered.

As of today, second-dose vaccinations are open to residents 70 or older, or anyone who received their first shot before March 15.

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2 p.m.

Manitoba is reporting three new deaths of residents with COVID-19.

The province’s daily pandemic update says two of those who died were men in their 20s from the Winnipeg health region, while the third was a man in his 70s from the Prairie Mountain health region.

The update says 357 new cases of the virus have been identified over the past 24 hours.

On Friday, health officials in Manitoba announced one of the biggest one-day jumps in COVID-19 numbers since the pandemic began, with 497 new cases.

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12:50 p.m.

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

Health officials have identified six cases in the province’s western health region, two in the eastern region and one in the central health region.

There are four people in hospital due to the virus, and the province is reporting 100 known active cases.

Officials say they are still trying to identify the source of infection in the central region where there is a cluster of 60 confirmed COVID-19 cases.

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12:15 p.m.

New Brunswick is reporting 10 new cases of COVID-19 today.

Five infections have been identified in the Moncton region, four in the Fredericton area and one in the Bathurst region.

The province has 143 known active cases with seven people hospitalized, including six in New Brunswick and one out of province.

Two patients are currently in intensive care.

Health officials are also reporting that just over 60 per cent of New Brunswickers aged 12 and older have received a first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.

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12:10 p.m.

Nova Scotia is reporting four new deaths related to COVID-19 and 33 new cases of the virus today.

Officials say two men in their 80s and a woman in her 70s have died in the Halifax area, along with a man in his 80s in the western zone.

The province says the single day death total is the highest since six deaths were reported on May 3rd of last year.

There are 566 known active cases of COVID-19 in Nova Scotia and 43 people in hospital, including 18 in intensive care.

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11:55 a.m.

The scramble may be easing for some Ontario residents who were trying to book their second dose of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine this weekend.

The province says it has received permission from Health Canada to extend the expiry date for some doses of the shot.

A spokeswoman for Health Minister Christine Elliott says the authorization to change the expiry from six to seven months came after a review of “stability data.”

Alexandra Hilkene says this means vaccine doses with an original expiry of May 31 can now be used until July 1.

Pharmacies and physicians offices had been rushing to administer thousands of shots this weekend ahead of the expiry to avoid waste.

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11:30 a.m.

Quebec is reporting 410 new cases of COVID-19 today and seven more deaths related to the virus, including one in the last 24 hours. 

Health officials say hospitalizations dropped by 12 for a total of 373.

The number of patients in intensive care held steady at 91.

The province says it administered 95,505 doses of vaccine on Friday, for a total of 5,405,885 since the start of the immunization campaign. 

The province says about 59.1 per cent of Quebecers have received at least one dose.

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10:45 a.m.

Ontario is reporting 1,057 new cases of COVID-19 today and 15 more deaths linked to the virus.

Health Minister Christine Elliott says there are 228 new cases in Toronto and 178 in Peel Region.

The Ministry of Health says 934 people are in hospital with COVID-19.

Of those, 626 are in intensive care and 438 are on a ventilator.

The province says 148,972 doses of a COVID-19 vaccine were administered since Friday’s report for a total of over 8.8 million doses.

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8:45 a.m.

Ontario’s COVID-19 science table says the province can re-open schools safely on a regional basis while still mitigating risks of transmission of the virus.

The new advice comes in response to a request from Premier Doug Ford for input on whether or not the province should reopen schools as virus cases trend downward.

The group says some regions could reopen based on advice from their local medical officers of health and continued adherence to public health measures.

They say the closure is harming some students’ physical and mental health and reopening would allow schools to re-establish contact with teachers and friends.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 29, 2021.

The Canadian Press