• Ottawa Public Health reported 156 confirmed cases of COVID-19 today. (The province says there were 225 cases). The city has now seen 18,788 cases since the first wave of infections began. The death toll is 470, up one. Sixty-nine are in hospital; 20 in intensive care. There are 1,948 active cases and there have been 16,370 recoveries. Ottawa Public Health is reporting COVID-19 outbreaks at 30 Ottawa institutions, including long-term care homes, retirement homes and hospitals and 10 in schools and child-care centres. There are 10 other outbreaks. So far, OPH has administered 180,125 doses and received 223,150.
  • The third wave of the pandemic has forced RBC Ottawa Bluesfest organizers to cancel this summer’s event.
  • Ontario has reported it has now seen 374,112 total cases of COVID-19, adding 3,295 cases today. The death toll rose by 19 to 7,494. There are 1,417 people in hospital, up 20, with 525 in intensive care, up 21, and 331 on a ventilator, up 20. Today, the province says there are 933 new cases in Toronto, 649 in Peel, 386 in York Region, 165 in Durham and 160 in Ottawa. There has been a total of 338,559 resolved cases, up 2,576 today.
  • The province has now identified 9,632 cases of the B117 UK variant, 75 cases of the B1351 South African variant and 131 cases of the P1/P2 Brazilian variant.
  • Ontario has administered 2,834,784 doses of vaccine; 326,360 people have been fully vaccinated with two doses of vaccine.
  • The province completed 63,846 tests the previous day. There have been 12,969,132 tests conducted so far. There are 42,404 tests under review.
  • There are 49 long-term care homes reporting an outbreak. There are 10 residents with an infection and 119 staff. So far in the pandemic, 3,904 residents have died because of COVID-19 infection.
  • Ontario has issued a stay at home order, closing non-essential retail stores for all but delivery and curbside pickup starting Thursday at 12:01 a.m. This is the province’s third emergency declaration during the pandemic. It will last until at least May 6.
  • The province is accelerating and adjusting its vaccination plan. People 60 and up are now able to book appointments for a vaccine, along with targeting those with highest risk conditions and people 18 and up in 90 hot spots as defined by postal code in Durham, Halton, Hamilton, Niagara, Ottawa, Peel, Simcoe-Muskoka, Southwestern, Toronto, Waterloo, Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph, Windsor-Essex and York Region. Starting April 12, and beginning in Toronto and Peel Region, teachers and other essential workers in hot zones are eligible. Special education teachers across the province are also now eligible.
  • Ontario will spend $10 million to make farms safer during the pandemic.
  • Quebec has now recorded 321,411 cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. The province reported 1,609 new cases today. So far 299,241 have recovered. The death toll is 10,718, up nine. The number in hospital is 566, up 23, with 132 in intensive care, up nine. The province completed 45,901  tests on April 6 for a total of 7,710,671. Quebec has injected 1,685,046; doses of vaccine so far. So far, 2,358,095 doses have been received in total.
  • The Outaouais reported 165 new cases of infection for a total of 8,593, along with a total of 175 deaths, up one. Some 7,555 cases have been resolved. There are 863 active cases. There have been 66,612 people in the region vaccinated with at least one dose. The Outaouais is in a red zone lockdown with an 8 p.m. curfew.
  • The Quebec government will keep harsh restrictions until April 19 in the hardest-hit cities, including Quebec City, Levis, Gatineau and the MRC des Collines. The province will restore the 8 p.m. curfew in Montreal and Laval on Sunday. The Eastern Townships are under review as cases increase.
  • An outbreak at the Hull jail in Gatineau has now grown to 46 active cases, according to local health authority CISSSO.
  • Quebec will start vaccinating essential workers and people with chronic illnesses in Montreal on Friday. School staff, daycare workers, police, prison guards, and people who work in slaughterhouses are among the essential workers who will be able to make appointments on the Clic-Santé website.
  • There is one new case in Newfoundland and Labrador and one new case in PEI.
  • Nova Scotia has reported five cases today.
  • New Brunswick is reporting seven new cases and record hospitalizations.
  • Manitoba is reporting 139 new cases and three more deaths today. The province has also determined that a death reported in March was caused by a variant.
  • There are 205 new cases of COVID-19 in Saskatchewan and two more deaths.
  • Alberta Premier Jason Kenney is fending off 16 MLAs who have signed a letter criticizing the recent implementation of restrictions. Kenney told caucus dissent is part of a democracy, but adds he has warned United Conservative legislature members that flouting the rules means disciplinary action including getting kicked out of caucus. The province reported 1,429 new cases today, along with three more deaths. There were 717 new cases of variants of concerns also identified. Variants now make up about 45 per cent of new cases in the province.
  • British Columbia health officials announced 1,293 new test-positive COVID-19 cases on Thursday, along with two deaths. Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry has expedited B.C.’s workplace order to allow WorkSafeBC inspectors, under the Public Health Act, to close a workplace for at least 10 days to limit the spread of the virus in that location.
  • So far Canada has seen 1,036,023+ confirmed cases. There have been 23,211+ deaths from the infection and 948,388+ recoveries. There are 63,707+ active cases.
  • Maj. Gen. Dany Fortin, the military commander leading Canada’s national vaccine distribution effort, says that about 317,000 doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine procured through COVAX arrived in Canada this morning. He said he believes the provinces are delivering doses as quickly as possible. About 16.9 per cent of Canadians have received a single dose; two per cent are fully vaccinated.
  • There have now been 133,611,513+ confirmed cases worldwide with 2,894,664+ deaths and 75,985,127+ recoveries.
  • General Motors and Ford both said on Thursday they will cut more vehicle production because of a semiconductor chip shortage that has roiled the global automotive industry.

COVID-19 by the numbers

Note: The following graphics show cases reported by the Public Health Agency of Canada and the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care. Numbers may lag behind local reports.

Click here for more COVID-19 graphics

April 7

  • Ottawa Public Health reported 196 confirmed cases of COVID-19 today. (The province says there were 225 cases). The city has now seen 18,632 cases since the first wave of infections began. The death toll is 470, up one. Sixty-nine are in hospital; 20 in intensive care. There are 1,926 active cases and there have been 16,236 recoveries. Ottawa Public Health is reporting COVID-19 outbreaks at 29 Ottawa institutions, including long-term care homes, retirement homes and hospitals and nine in schools and child-care centres. There are seven other outbreaks. So far, OPH has administered 180,125 doses and received 223,150.
  • Ontario has issued a stay at home order, closing non-essential retail stores for all but delivery and curbside pickup starting Thursday at 12:01 a.m. This is the province’s third emergency declaration during the pandemic. It will last until at least May 6. Big box stores will be allowed to open for sale of essential goods only. The provincial order does not close schools, however individual public health regions — Toronto, Peel Region and Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph — have closed schools to indoor learning.
  • The province is also beginning Phase 2 of its vaccine plan. This means people 60 and up will be able to book appointments for a vaccine starting Wednesday, along with targeting those with highest risk conditions and people 50 and up in hot spots as defined by postal code. Some 90 or so neighbourhoods in 13 public health units have been identified. Adults 18 and over will be eligible to get vaccinated in these areas from mobile vaccination clinics. Teachers who live and or work in hot zones will also be vaccinated. And special education teachers will get a shot. The mobile clinics will also go to large employers in Toronto and Peel Region to vaccinate essential workers. The units are: Durham, Halton, Hamilton, Niagara, Ottawa, Peel, Simcoe-Muskoka, Southwestern, Toronto, Waterloo, Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph, Windsor-Essex and York Region.
  • Ontario has reported it has now seen 370,817 total cases of COVID-19, adding 3,215 cases today. The death toll rose by 17 to 7,475. There are 1,397 people in hospital, up 237, with 504 in intensive care, down six, and 311 on a ventilator, up one. Today, the province says there are 1,095 new cases in Toronto, 596 in Peel, 342 in York Region and 187 in Durham. There has been a total of 335,983 resolved cases, up 2,407 today.
  • The province has now identified 2,291 cases of the B117 UK variant, 72 cases of the B1351 South African variant and 120 cases of the P1/P2 Brazilian variant.
  • Ontario has administered 2,726,221 doses of vaccine; 324,783 people have been fully vaccinated with two doses of vaccine.
  • The province completed 49,889 tests the previous day. There have been 12,905,286 tests conducted so far. There are 41,624 tests under review.
  • There are 52 long-term care homes reporting an outbreak. There are nine residents with an infection and 118 staff. So far in the pandemic, 3,904 residents have died because of COVID-19 infection.
  • A Campaign Research survey done for the Toronto Star found 62 per cent of Ontarians say they want to get vaccinated right away while another 27 per cent said “maybe, but I would like to wait for a while and see how things go first.” Seven per cent said they would not get the vaccine.
  • Quebec has now recorded 319,802 cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. The province reported 1,270 new cases today. So far 298,298 have recovered. The death toll is 10,709, up eight. The number in hospital is 543, up 29, with 123 in intensive care, up two. The province completed 34,499 tests on April 5 for a total of 7,664,770. Quebec has injected 1,636,310; doses of vaccine so far. So far, 2,358,095 doses have been received in total.
  • The Outaouais reported 178 new cases of infection for a total of 8,428, along with a total of 175 deaths, up one. Some 7,461 cases have been resolved. There are 792 active cases. There have been 62,989 people in the region vaccinated with at least one dose. The Outaouais is in a red zone lockdown with an 8 p.m. curfew.
  • Quebec is expanding vaccination to now include essential workers living in Montreal. This includes all staff in elementary and high schools, daycare workers, police and firemen, prison guards, social workers and other community workers who work with the vulnerable or in mental health. It also includes people working in meat processing, temporary agriculture workers from other countries, and mine workers. This will add about 150,000 people into the vaccination process.
  • Quebec reported the death of a 16 year old today, the youngest to pass away in the province during the pandemic. The death happened on April 3.
  • The Mega Fitness Gym in Quebec City has now been linked to 419 cases and one death after staff and clients got infected and unknowingly carried the virus to grocery stores, homes, and workplaces, the regional health authority said Wednesday.
  • Newfoundland and Labrador has reported one case today.
  • New Brunswick is reporting 14 new cases and one more death.
  • Manitoba is reporting 109 new cases and one more death today.
  • There were 189 new infections in Saskatchewan along with two more deaths.
  • Alberta physicians are calling for an immediate lockdown to stave off rising COVID-19 cases instead of moving forward with “insufficient” restrictions coming into effect this week. Alberta reported an additional 1,351 infections on Wednesday, along with one more death.
  • British Columbia health officials announced 997 new test-positive COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, along with two deaths. Some 25 members of the Vancouver Canucks have been infected with COVID-19; 21 are players on the roster or taxi squad.
  • So far Canada has seen 1,027,947+ confirmed cases. There have been 23,173+ deaths from the infection and 941,908+ recoveries. There are 60,299+ active cases.
  • Canada could give 75 per cent of all eligible adults their first vaccine dose by mid-June if provinces stretch the dosing intervals between injections up to four months, the National Advisory Committee on Immunization says. NACI says that second doses should be given as soon as supply warrants.
  • There have now been 132,567,505+ confirmed cases worldwide with 2,876,350+ deaths and 75,307,295+ recoveries.
  • Toronto Raptors players and team officials were vaccinated today in Florida.
  • A U.S. study published in Lancet Psychiatry shows almost 34 per cent of people who had COVID-19 were later diagnosed with a neurological or psychological condition. More than 12 per cent of those who had COVID-19 were diagnosed with these conditions for the first time.
  • Unusual blood clots should be listed as “very rare” side effects of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, Europe’s main drug regulator said Wednesday. Emer Cooke, the executive director of the European Medicines Agency (EMA), said that the “benefits of the AstraZeneca overall outweigh the risks of side effects.” The vaccine has “proved to be highly effective,” she said at a news briefing, adding that it prevented “severe disease and hospitalization and it is saving lives.”
  • Canada has paused use of the AstraZeneca vaccine for those under 55, pending the EMA review.

April 6

  • Media reports late Tuesday night indicate that Ontario will today impose a stay at home order beginning Wednesday at midnight. The move will see non-essential businesses closed. Big box stores will be allowed to sell groceries, garden supplies and pharmaceuticals only. Everything else will be roped off. Other retail will be allowed curbside pickup only.
  • The province is also beginning Phase 2 of its vaccine plan. This means people 60 and up will be able to book appointments for a vaccine starting Wednesday, along with targeting those with highest risk conditions and people 50 and up in hot spots as defined by postal code. Some 90 or so neighbourhoods in 13 public health units have been identified. The units are: Durham, Halton, Hamilton, Niagara, Ottawa, Peel, Simcoe-Muskoka, Southwestern, Toronto, Waterloo, Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph, Windsor-Essex and York Region. The province will also send vaccination teams into large workplaces that have been a source of infection into the broader community.
  • The province will administer nine million doses by the end of June, Premier Doug Ford said. Essential workers will now be getting their COVID-19 shots starting in mid-May.
  • He said the government is reviewing the situation in schools including consideration for a move to online learning.
  • Ontario has reported it has now seen 367,602 total cases of COVID-19, adding 3,065 cases today. The death toll rose by eight to 7,458. There are 1,161 people in hospital with 510 in intensive care and 310 on a ventilator. Today, the province says there are 955 new cases in Toronto, 561 in Peel, 320 in York Region, 165 in Ottawa and 132 in Niagara. There has been a total of 333,576 resolved cases, up 1,976 today.
  • The province has now identified 2,165 cases of the UK variant, 71 cases of the South African variant and 106 cases of the Brazilian variant. At least 70 per of cases in Ontario are now caused by variants of concern.
  • Ontario has administered 2,621,839 doses of vaccine; 323,148 people have been fully vaccinated with two doses of vaccine. Almost a million people over age 60 in Ontario have not lined up for vaccination, the premier said today.
  • The province completed 37,541 tests the previous day. There have been 12,855,397 tests conducted so far. There are 29,173 tests under review.
  • There are 52 long-term care homes reporting an outbreak. There are eight residents with an infection and 121 staff. So far in the pandemic, 3,903 residents have died because of COVID-19 infection.
  • Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph has joined Peel Region in ordering schools closed.
  • Toronto Public Health too has closed schools in Toronto until April 18. Some 247,000 students will now be learning online.
  • Ottawa Public Health reported 176 confirmed cases of COVID-19 today. The city has now seen 18,436 cases since the first wave of infections began. The death toll is 469, up one. Fifty-six are in hospital; 18 in intensive care. There are 1,852 active cases and there have been 16,115 recoveries. Ottawa Public Health is reporting COVID-19 outbreaks at 28 Ottawa institutions, including long-term care homes, retirement homes and hospitals and 10 in schools and child-care centres. There are six other outbreaks. So far, OPH has administered 167,855 doses and received 193,710.
  • Ottawa-based Spartan Bioscience, which developed a rapid COVID-19 testing device says it has filed for creditor protection and laid off 60 staff after finding an undisclosed problem with the technology. 
  • City of Ottawa staff report that the pandemic will actually cost the city $254 million this year. Most of the cost has already been picked up by the federal government and the province.
  • Ottawa Public Health won’t be sending students home at present. Dr. Vera Etches says it’s important to keep the students in class.
  • Quebec has now recorded 318,532 cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. The province reported 1,168 new cases today. So far 297,384 have recovered. The death toll is 10,701, up four. The number in hospital is 514, up 11, with 121 in intensive care, down two. The province completed 25,239 tests on April 4 for a total of 7,630,271. Quebec has injected 1,592,197 doses of vaccine so far. So far, 2,334,695 doses have been received in total.
  • The Outaouais reported 87 new cases of infection for a total of 8,250, along with a total of 174 deaths. Some 7,261 cases have been resolved. There are 728 active cases. There have been 60,107 people in the region vaccinated with at least one dose. The Outaouais is in a red zone lockdown with an 8 p.m. curfew.
  • People 60 and up in the Outaouais can now book an appointment for a COVID-19 vaccine by the end of the week. Those 55 and over will be able to book an appointment for an Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine by Thursday. 
  • Starting next Monday, students in grades 9, 10 and 11 in red zones will attend school in person on alternate days and extracurricular activities will be cancelled. Premier Francois Legault said gyms in red zones must close Thursday, and that places of worship will have to limit attendance to 25 people. The province will also ban residents of red and orange zones from travelling to yellow zones starting Thursday, according to the Health Department’s website. Officials will announce plans on Wednesday to vaccinate people with serious medical conditions and essential workers, including teachers, daycare workers and police officers.
  • Nova Scotia is reporting six new cases as it opens its borders to travellers from Newfoundland and Labrador. The province also announced malls, retail businesses and gyms can return to 100 per cent capacity with physical distancing. The premier said all residents of Atlantic Canada can come to Nova Scotia without having to self-isolate upon arrival and without having to complete the Nova Scotia Safe Check-in form. Residents and travelers must continue to follow all public health measures in Nova Scotia.
  • New Brunswick has reported three new cases.
  • The Manitoba government is budgeting nearly $1.2 billion in the 2021-22 fiscal year to address COVID-19 and prepare for future pandemic and economic needs. The province reported two more deaths, along with 62 new cases.
  • Three more Saskatchewan residents have died as the province added 217 new cases Tuesday. Meanwhile the province committed $4.8 billion to its COVID-19 economic response as it attempts to return to financial stability. The amount was included in the 2021-22 budget.
  • Dr. Theresa Tam says there are now more that 15,000 active cases in Canada that are linked to variants of concern. The bulk (93 per cent) of these are the B117 variant but the P1 variant first identified in Brazil is starting to spread exponentially in British Columbia and to a lesser extent Alberta where there are two major outbreaks of the P1 variant. one of the outbreaks was linked to PTW Canada Ltd. On its website, the Calgary-based company says it provides “fabrication, construction and maintenance services” to customers. In British Columbia, 737 of Canada’s 857 P1 cases in Canada have been confirmed. Several members of the Vancouver Canucks have been infected with the P1 variant.
  • Alberta Premier Jason Kenney announced Tuesday that starting Wednesday certain health restrictions will be imposed. These include an end to indoor dining, closed gyms, reduced capacity in retail stores to 15 per cent and a ban on performing arts. The province reported 931 new cases on Tuesday, 676 of them variants most of them the U.K. variant. There were three more deaths.
  • British Columbia health officials announced 1,068 new test-positive COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, along with three more deaths. There have been 207 new confirmed COVID-19 cases that are variants of concern in the province, for a total of 3,766 cases. Of the total, 266 are active and the remaining people have recovered. This includes 2,838 cases of the B.1.1.7 (U.K.) variant, 51 cases of the B.1.351 (South Africa) variant and 877 cases of the P.1 (Brazil) variant.
  • So far Canada has seen 1,020,680+ confirmed cases. There have been 23,138+ deaths from the infection and 935,558+ recoveries. There are 58,673+ active cases.
  • The United Way and its partners are asking for bridge funding from the federal government called the Community Services COVID Relief Program, that could cost between $500 and $700 million. The request comes as charitable organizations are facing closure because of a lack of fundraising support during the pandemic. CBC has more.
  • Federal Health Minister Patty Hajdu delivered a series of tweets this morning that outline the federal government has delivered 10 million doses of vaccine to provinces. The tweets also indicate how many doses have been administered. For example, she tweeted Quebec has received 2,320,707 vaccines from the federal government and has administered 1,552,215 doses. And Ontario has 4,022,875 vaccines and they have administered 2,545,640 doses across the province. Alberta has received 1,078,215 vaccines and they have administered 707,482 doses across the province. British Columbia has received 1,289,060 doses of vaccine and has injected 893,590 doses.
  • Hajdu said later that she believed a thorough review of the federal handling of the pandemic is warranted at the right time. This follows a statement by Conservative leader Erin O’Toole who said a Tory government would hold a public inquiry.
  • Justin Trudeau said the federal government is willing to help the provinces administer vaccine doses if asked to provide additional resources. He says the federal government will not point fingers about who is doing what. He said he is speaking with Ontario Premier Doug Ford this afternoon on hospital capacity and vaccinations.
  • The prime minister announced that the Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit will be extended two weeks. Justin Trudeau also said that the first doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine will arrive later this month.
  • There have now been 131,907,441+ confirmed cases worldwide with 2,862,858+ deaths and 74,924,718+ recoveries.
  • U.S. President Joe Biden will announce today that all Americans who want one should be eligible to receive a first dose of vaccine by April 19.
  • Australia and New Zealand will open a travel bubble on April 19. The virus has effectively been eradicated in both countries, with minor outbreaks a result of leakage from quarantined returned travellers. Australia has recorded about 29,400 virus cases and 909 deaths since the pandemic began, while New Zealand has had just over 2,100 confirmed cases and 26 deaths.
  • There is a causal link between AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine and rare blood clots, a top official at the European Medicines Agency (EMA) said in an interview published Tuesday. Marco Cavaleri, head of health threats and vaccine strategy, told Rome’s Il Messaggero newspaper that he still endorses the shot and an EMA statement on the vaccine was coming this week.

April 5

  • Ottawa Public Health reported 237 confirmed cases of COVID-19 today. The city has now seen 18,260 cases since the first wave of infections began. The death toll is 468, up one. Fifty-three are in hospital; 16 in intensive care. There are 1,815 active cases and there have been 15,977 recoveries. Ottawa Public Health is reporting COVID-19 outbreaks at 29 Ottawa institutions, including long-term care homes, retirement homes and hospitals and nine in schools and child-care centres. There are five other outbreaks. So far, OPH has administered 167,855 doses and received 193,710.
  • Ottawa Public Health is holding town halls in different languages that represent multiple communities across the city — English, French, Arabic, Mandarin, and Somali — as a way to combat misinformation and vaccine hesitancy.
  • Ontario has reported it has now seen 364,537 total cases of COVID-19, adding 2,938 cases today and 3,041 cases reported Sunday. The death toll rose by 22 over two days to 7,450. There are 942 people in hospital with 494 in intensive care and 293 on a ventilator. Today the province says there are 906 new cases in Toronto, 533 in Peel, 391 in York Region, 230 in Ottawa and 140 in Durham. There has been a total of 331,600 resolved cases, up 1,761 today and 1,899 on Sunday.
  • The province has now identified 2,135 cases of the UK variant, 71 cases of the South African variant and 103 cases of the Brazilian variant. At least 70 per of cases in Ontario are now caused by variants of concern.
  • Ontario has administered 2,545,640 doses of vaccine; 322,197 people have been fully vaccinated with two doses of vaccine.
  • The province completed 36,563 tests the previous day. There have been 12,817,856 tests conducted so far. There are 17,739 tests under review.
  • There are 50 long-term care homes reporting an outbreak. There are six residents with an infection and 116 staff. So far in the pandemic, 3,903 residents have died because of COVID-19 infection.
  • Medical officers of health in Toronto, Peel Region and Dr. Vera Etches in Ottawa are urging the province to impose stronger public health measures immediately, saying a provincial stay-at-home order is needed now to curb COVID-19.
  • The Ontario government has appointed Dr. Homer Tien, the head of the province’s air ambulance service, as the new task force head for Phase 2 of its COVID-19 vaccine rollout. He replaces Rick Hillier.
  • Ontario is in a provincial shutdown for the next four weeks.
  • Calls to bring vaccinations into factories and other essential workplaces in Ontario have increased. Doctors are telling CBC that these places are where the pandemic is being fuelled.
  • Toronto Mayor John Tory is calling on the federal and provincial governments to work together to improve the paid sick day program to help workers stay home and isolate. “The time has certainly come now when we’re in the third wave,” he said on Monday.
  • Students in Peel Region will not be returning to school on Tuesday. Instead, they will be learning remotely for at least two weeks.
  • Quebec has now recorded 317,364 cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. The province reported 1,252 new cases today. So far 296,396 have recovered. The death toll is 10,697, up four. The number in hospital is 503, up one, with 123 in intensive care, down five. The province completed 24,065 tests on April 3 for a total of 7,605,032. Quebec has injected 1,552,215 doses of vaccine so far. So far, 2,127,605 doses have been received in total.
  • The Outaouais reported 111 new cases of infection for a total of 8,163, along with a total of 174 deaths. Some 7,175 cases have been resolved. There are 703 active cases. There have been 59,507 people in the region vaccinated with at least one dose. The Outaouais is in a red zone lockdown with an 8 p.m. curfew.
  • Quebec is moving five communities in the Chaudiere-Appalaches region south of Quebec City into the red zone where non-essential businesses will close and an 8 p.m. curfew will be in force starting tonight until at least April 12.
  • Nova Scotia reports three new COVID-19 cases,. The province has 32 active infections.
  • New Brunswick is reporting 10 new cases of on Monday.
  • Manitoba recorded two deaths and 135 new COVID-19 cases on Easter Sunday and Monday.
  • Saskatchewan reported 219 new cases on Monday and one more death.
  • Alberta has identified 887 new cases in the last 24 hours, including 432 cases involving variants of concern, along with four deaths.
  • British Columbia reported 1,889 new cases (999 reported Sunday and 890 reported Monday). There were 23 deaths reported.
  • So far Canada has seen 1,014,371+ confirmed cases. There have been 23,118+ deaths from the infection and 926,196+ recoveries. There are 60,696+ active cases.
  • There have now been 131,401,449+ confirmed cases worldwide with 2,854,665+ deaths and 74,560,696+ recoveries.

April 4

Happy Easter

  • Ottawa Public Health reported 198 confirmed cases of COVID-19 today. The city has now seen 18,023 cases since the first wave of infections began. The death toll is 467. Forty-seven are in hospital; 16 in intensive care. There are 1,641 active cases and there have been 15,915 recoveries. Ottawa Public Health is reporting COVID-19 outbreaks at 24 Ottawa institutions, including long-term care homes, retirement homes and hospitals and nine in schools and child-care centres. There are six other outbreaks. So far, OPH has administered 151,286 doses and received 174,410.
  • As of Saturday, Ontario reported it has now seen 358,558 total cases and 7,428 deaths. The province will report new case numbers Monday.
  • Quebec has now recorded 316,112 cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. The province reported 1,154 new cases today. So far 295,453 have recovered. The death toll is 10,693, up nine. The number in hospital is 502, up one, with 128 in intensive care, up four. The province completed 28,542 tests on April 2 for a total of 7,580,967. Quebec has injected 1,529,541 doses of vaccine so far. So far, 2,127,605 doses have been received in total.
  • The Outaouais reported 118 new cases of infection for a total of 8,052, along with a total of 174 deaths. Some 7,175 cases have been resolved. There are 703 active cases. There have been 57,408 people in the region vaccinated with at least one dose.
  • New Brunswick reported 11 new cases today.
  • Nova Scotia reported seven new cases.
  • Saskatchewan is adding 221 coronavirus infections on Sunday along wth three deaths.
  • Alberta is investigating what the province’s chief medical officer of health described as a “significant” outbreak of the P. 1 variant of concern, which first emerged in Brazil. Dr. Deena Hinshaw said in a tweet that the outbreak can be traced back to a returning traveller.
  • British Columbia reported 1,072 diagnoses on Saturday and 1,018 on Friday.
  • Some 20 members of the Vancouver Canucks are reported to have been infected with a COVID-19 variant. Fourteen players are on the NHL COVID protocol list. Some players are said to be confined to bed because of the severity of the infection.
  • So far Canada has seen 1,001,921+ confirmed cases. There have been 23,062+ deaths from the infection and 921,459+ recoveries. There are 56,036+ active cases.
  • There have now been 131,121,384+ confirmed cases worldwide with 2,850,061+ deaths and 74,355,759+ recoveries.
  • Pope Francis gave his Easter message from inside St. Peter’s Basilica before a gathering of about 200, rather than the traditional speech on the balcony overlooking a square packed with thousands. The pandemic was front and centre in the pope’s streamed “Urbi et Orbi″ address. Francis denounced armed conflicts in Africa, the Mideast, Latin America, Asia and Eastern Europe amid the global health crisis and pleaded for equity of care. “The pandemic is still spreading, while the social and economic crisis remains severe, especially for the poor. Nevertheless – and this is scandalous – armed conflicts have not ended, and military arsenals are being strengthened.”
  • The United States has administered more than 165 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines in the country as of Sunday morning and distributed nearly 208 million, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Sunday. Canada has delivered 5.6 million first doses and 702,000 second doses. Eighty per cent of delivered doses have been administered. About 14.8 per cent of the population has been vaccinated.
  • British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government is about to unveil a COVID-19 certification scheme as part of his roadmap to freedom. The coronavirus certification scheme is an electronic or paper record of identifying whether a person has been vaccinated, received a recent negative test, or has natural immunity.

April 3

  • Ottawa Public Health reported 240 confirmed cases of COVID-19 today. (The province reported 205 in Ottawa). The city has now seen 17,825 cases since the first wave of infections began. The death toll is 467, up one. Forty-four are in hospital; 14 in intensive care. There are 1,516 active cases and there have been 15,842 recoveries. Ottawa Public Health is reporting COVID-19 outbreaks at 27 Ottawa institutions, including long-term care homes, retirement homes and hospitals and 10 in schools and child-care centres. There are five other outbreaks. So far, OPH has administered 151,286 doses and received 174,410.
  • Ontario has reported it has now seen 358,558 total cases of COVID-19, adding 3,009 cases today and 3,098 on Friday. The death toll rose by 39 over the two days to 7,428. There are 761 people in hospital with 451 in intensive care and 261 on a ventilator. Today the province says there are 954 new cases in Toronto, 434 in Peel, 348 in York Region and 146 in Hamilton. There has been a total of 327,940 resolved cases, up 3,854 over the past two days.
  • The province has now identified 2,042 cases of the UK variant, 70 cases of the South African variant and 102 cases of the Brazilian variant. About 70 per of cases in Ontario are now caused by variants of concern.
  • Ontario has administered 2,424,063 doses of vaccine; 321,469 people have been fully vaccinated with two doses of vaccine.
  • The province completed 59,117 tests the previous day. There have been 12,734,913 tests conducted so far. There are 25,049 tests under review.
  • There are 46 long-term care homes reporting an outbreak. There are seven residents with an infection and 106 staff. So far in the pandemic, 3,901 residents have died because of COVID-19 infection.
  • New Brunswick reported nine more cases Saturday.
  • Nova Scotia reported four new cases.
  • Manitoba reported 59 cases and two deaths.
  • Alberta is reporting an estimated 1,100 new COVID-19 cases for the second day in a row.
  • Saskatchewan is reporting 280 new cases of COVID-19 today,
  • So far Canada has seen 999,451+ confirmed cases. There have been 23,052+ deaths from the infection and 920,282+ recoveries. There are 49,568+ active cases.
  • There have now been 130,566,186+ confirmed cases worldwide with 2,842,363+ deaths and 73,980,025+ recoveries.

April 2

  • Ottawa Public Health reported 175 confirmed cases of COVID-19 today. The city has now seen 17,585 cases since the first wave of infections began. The death toll is 466. Forty-three are in hospital; 14 in intensive care. There are 1,358 active cases and there have been 15,761 recoveries. Ottawa Public Health is reporting COVID-19 outbreaks at 24 Ottawa institutions, including long-term care homes, retirement homes and hospitals and 10 in schools and child-care centres. There are eight other outbreaks. So far, OPH has administered 151,286 doses and received 174,410.
  • In a statement Friday morning, the City of Ottawa said it has confirmed delivery of additional doses of the COVID-19 vaccine and is able to offer more vaccination appointments to eligible residents aged 70 and older.
  • Ontario, including Ottawa, will enter a shutdown at midnight. Under the guidelines, indoor and outdoor dining at bars and restaurants is prohibited, and personal care settings and gyms must close. Essential retail stores will be able to operate with a 50 per cent capacity limit, while other retail businesses, including big box stores and stores in malls, can operate at 25 per cent capacity. The City of Ottawa will temporarily close city-managed recreation and cultural facilities for most indoor activities, limit capacity at outdoor recreation amenities and suspend in-person city counter services. 
  • Ontario is not reporting new case numbers today because if the Good Friday holiday. On Thursday the province had seen 352,460 total cases of COVID-19. The death toll was 7,389.
  • As of Thursday, 175 children and teens have been hospitalized in Alberta with COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic. That’s up from 37 in November. Total ICU admissions have also jumped, from five to 35, according to provincial statistics.
  • Quebec has now recorded 313,676 cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. The province reported 1,314 new cases today. So far 293,567 have recovered. The death toll is 10,681, up five. The number in hospital is 503, up 16, with 121 in intensive care, up two. The province completed 39,886 tests on March 30=1 for a total of 7,516,063. Quebec has injected 1,440,680 doses of vaccine so far. So far, 1,992,505 doses have been received in total.
  • The Outaouais reported 143 new cases of infection for a total of 7,803, along with a total of 174 deaths. Some 6,939 cases have been resolved. There are 547 active cases. There have been 51,040 people in the region vaccinated with at least one dose.
  • New Quebec red zone restrictions on Gatineau, the MRC des Collines, Quebec City and Levis come are in force, including an 8 p.m. curfew. Schools and non-essential business are closed. The circuit breaker will last until April 12 at least.
  • A Quebec City gym that has come under fire by the premier for not following public health guidelines is now responsible for 141 COVID-19 cases. The number of cases connected to the Mega Fitness Gym is growing quickly: at about 5 p.m. on Thursday, it was at 120. Three hours later, the total was 141.
  • Nova Scotia and New Brunswick each reported nine new cases.
  • Saskatchewan is reporting 254 new cases and one more death.
  • Alberta is seeing its highest number of daily cases of COVID-19 in months, with an estimated 1,100 new infections reported Friday.
  • So far Canada has seen 990,610+ confirmed cases. There have been 23,008+ deaths from the infection and 916,428+ recoveries. There are 49,568+ active cases.
  • Canadians of faith are marking a second year of Holy Week at home. A new public opinion survey from the non-profit Angus Reid Institute, in partnership with Cardus, finds this demographic reflecting on what they have gained and lost. The study canvassed 1,059 Canadian adults who attended religious services at least once per month pre-pandemic, finds more personal prayer (32 per cent), but less connection to a sense of religious community (50 per cent). Many long for a return to in-person worship (49 per cent), but among those who’ve had an opportunity to do so under pandemic restrictions, a plurality (42 per cent) describe the experience as less satisfying.
  • There have now been 129,761,773+ confirmed cases worldwide with 2,830,059+ deaths and 73,546,720+ recoveries.
  • An alarming rise in the COVID-19 death toll in the Brazilian city of São Paulo has forced gravediggers to empty old graves to make space for the coronavirus victims. Brazil saw 66,000 deaths from the virus in the month of March. The country has now reported 12,839,844+ cases and 325,284+ deaths.
  • The United Kingdom has reported 30 cases of blood clots after the use of the AstraZeneca-Oxford COVID-19 vaccine out of a total of 18.1 million doses given by March 24. With more than a third of the population now vaccinated, the case rate is now thought to be between -4 per cent and 0 per cent, which means that the number of cases is “broadly flat” or shrinking by up to four per cent every day.
  • Across the English Channel, France is seeing a surge in cases as the national infection rate has doubled over the past three weeks. President Emmanuel Macron has closed schools for three weeks and imposed a month-long domestic travel ban, as the rapid spread of the virus ramped up pressure on hospitals.
  • The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday said fully vaccinated people can now safely travel at “low risk.”
  • The Netherlands has suspended use of AstraZeneca in people under the age of 60.

April 1

  • This is no joke. Beginning Saturday, Premier Doug Ford has put the province of Ontario into a 28-day emergency brake shutdown, allowing some activities. Ford called this a new pandemic, saying the province is fighting a new and aggressive enemy. “We’ve never had more Ontarians in intensive care that we have today,” he said. In saying that, Ford announced the opening of 70 beds in the Toronto Congress Centre to ease pressure on hospitals. He said the province was offering another round of financial support totalling more than $1 billion for small businesses.
  • The shutdown restricts indoor gatherings and limiting outdoor events to five people. Retail outlets such as pharmacies and groceries are open to 50 per cent of capacity. Other retail is limited to 25 per cent capacity. Indoor and outdoor dining in restaurants are prohibited; takeout and delivery are allowed. Religious services indoors are limited to 15. Schools remain open.
  • People are asked to stay at home whenever possible only going out for essential purposes. The province is not producing a formal stay-at-home order, Health Minister Christine Elliott says, to allow people to enjoy the outdoors as weather warms.
  • The province released new modelling on the third wave of the pandemic that shows that hospitalizations, admission to intensive care and deaths are all more severe because of variant infection. There has been a 41.7 per cent increase in hospitalizations in the past two weeks. About 46 per cent of admissions into ICUs are under 60.
  • The new modelling is also showing that essential workers are bearing the brunt of variant infection and indicates, the doctors say, the need to consider vaccinations targeted at these groups.
  • A group of 150 intensive care physicians have signed and released a letter today urging the premier to take immediate action and to stop using ICU numbers as the benchmark that triggers lockdowns.
  • Ontario has reported it has now seen 352,460 total cases of COVID-19, adding 2,557 cases today. The death toll rose by 23 to 7,389. There are 1,116 people in hospital, up five, with 433 in intensive care, up 37, and 259 on a ventilator, up seven. Today the province says there are 743 new cases in Toronto, 484 in Peel, 311 in York Region, 119 in Hamilton and 107 in Durham. There has been a total of 324,196 resolved cases, up 1,814.
  • The province has now identified 1,953 cases of the UK variant, 67 cases of the South African variant and 96 cases of the Brazilian variant. About 68 per of cases in Ontario are now caused by variants of concern.
  • Ontario has administered 2,276,313 doses of vaccine; 317,715 people have been fully vaccinated with two doses of vaccine.
  • The province completed 62,290 tests the previous day. There have been 12,613,463 tests conducted so far. There are 42,057 tests under review.
  • There are 44 long-term care homes reporting an outbreak. There are nine residents with an infection and 103 staff. So far in the pandemic, 3,901 residents have died because of COVID-19 infection.
  • Ottawa Public Health reported 116 confirmed cases of COVID-19 today. The province reported 144 in Ottawa. The city has now seen 17,410 cases since the first wave of infections began. The death toll is 466, up two. Forty are in hospital; 13 in intensive care. There are 1,263 active cases and there have been 15,681 recoveries. Ottawa Public Health is reporting COVID-19 outbreaks at 27 Ottawa institutions, including long-term care homes, retirement homes and hospitals and eight in schools and child-care centres. There are eight other outbreaks. So far, OPH has administered 139,969 doses and received 172,410.
  • Residents aged 55 and over will soon be able to get the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine at 34 Ottawa pharmacies. CTV has a full list of pharmacies. Some 700 pharmacies are now administering vaccine doses in Ontario.
  • Quebec has now recorded 312,362 cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. The province reported 1,271 new cases today. So far 292,648 have recovered. The death toll is 10,676, up nine. The number in hospital is 487, up two, with 119 in intensive care, down one. The province completed 41,053 tests on March 30 for a total of 7,476,177. Quebec has injected 1,391,649 doses of vaccine so far. So far, 1,652,905 doses have been received in total.
  • The Outaouais reported 126 new cases of infection for a total of 7,660, along with a total of 174 deaths, up one. Some 6,860 cases have been resolved. There are 501 active cases. There have been 47,680 people in the region vaccinated with at least one dose.
  • New Quebec red zone restrictions on Gatineau, the MRC des Collines, Quebec City and Levis come into force tonight at 8 p.m. the beginning of new curfew hours for these communities. Schools and non-essential business will also close. The circuit breaker will last until April 12 at least.
  • Newfoundland and Labrador is reporting one new case of COVID-19 on Thursday.
  • Nova Scotia reported three new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday.
  • New Brunswick reports 10 new cases.
  • Manitoba reports 59 new cases Thursday.
  • Saskatchewan is reporting 199 new cases.
  • Alberta is reporting 875 new cases of infection and four deaths.
  • The British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal has made it clear that anyone thinking of filing a complaint because they were told to wear a mask in a store will actually have to prove they have a disability that prevents them from doing so. In a screening decision handed down Wednesday, tribunal member Steven Adamson wrote that “a large volume of complaints” have been filed over B.C.’s COVID-19 measures requiring face coverings in public indoor spaces like grocery stores, libraries and community centres. The province has seen 832 new confirmed cases today, along with five deaths.
  • So far Canada has seen 987,918+ confirmed cases. There have been 23,000+ deaths from the infection and 913,913+ recoveries. There are 47,864+ active cases.
  • Maj.-Gen. Dany Fortin said more than 100 million doses are expected by the end of September. As of Thursday, the federal government has distributed 7.4 million doses of vaccines to the provinces and territories. Fortin said 590,000 Moderna doses delayed last week are to arrive in Canada Friday morning with another 855,000 doses by the end of next week and 1.2 million doses the last week of April. He confirmed the arrival of the 1.5 million AstraZeneca doses earlier this week from the United States, with more than 300,000 doses expected from COVAX facility. Finally Fortin says a steady flow of a million Pfizer-BioNTech shots a week should start rolling through April and May with over 17 million doses expected from Pfizer alone by June.
  • There have now been 129,046,573+ confirmed cases worldwide with 2,818,395+ deaths and 73,201,293+ recoveries.

March 31

  • Ontario has reported it has now seen 349,903 total cases of COVID-19, adding 2,333 cases today. The death toll rose by 16 to 7,366. There are 1,111 people in hospital, up 21, with 396 in intensive care, up nine, and 252 on a ventilator, up three. Today the province says there are 785 new cases in Toronto, 433 in Peel, 222 in York Region, 153 in Hamilton, 124 in Ottawa and 120 in Durham. There has been a total of 322,382 resolved cases, up 1,973.
  • The province has now identified 1,898 cases of the UK variant, 70 cases of the South African variant and 92 cases of the Brazilian variant. About 68 per of cases in Ontario are now caused by variants of concern.
  • Ontario has administered 2,192,253 doses of vaccine; 315,820 people have been fully vaccinated with two doses of vaccine.
  • The province completed 52,532 tests the previous day. There have been 12,551,173 tests conducted so far. There are 40,466 tests under review.
  • There are 43 long-term care homes reporting an outbreak. There are 10 residents with an infection and 101 staff. So far in the pandemic, 3,901 residents have died because of COVID-19 infection.
  • Admissions of COVID-19 patients to Ontario’s intensive care units have surpassed the previous pandemic high, a government agency that tracks hospitalizations says. On Wednesday there were 421 patients with the virus in ICUs across the province, according to Critical Care Services Ontario (CCSO), which puts together daily internal reports for hospitals and health organizations.
  • Ontario Premier Doug Ford said he is “extremely concerned” about both rising ICU admissions and daily case counts and has indicated that an announcement on restrictions is coming Thursday. Reports indicate he will announce a four week circuit breaker lockdown for the province.
  • Meanwhile Ford was on hand for an announcement of a joint funding agreement to expand Canada’s vaccine manufacturing capacity in Toronto. The federal government will spend $415 million on a partnership with Sanofi Pasteur Ltd. Ontario will contribute $55 million to the project. Sanofi will spend more than $455 million as well as create and maintain 1,225 highly-skilled jobs in Canada. The company will also invest at least $79 million a year to fund Canadian research and development.
  • Ottawa Public Health reported 117 confirmed cases of COVID-19. The province reported 144 in Ottawa. The city has now seen 17,294 cases since the first wave of infections began. The death toll is 464, up one. Thirty-nine are in hospital; 11 in intensive care. There are 1,233 active cases and there have been 15,597 recoveries. Ottawa Public Health is reporting COVID-19 outbreaks at 25 Ottawa institutions, including long-term care homes, retirement homes and hospitals and nine in schools and child-care centres. There are 10 other outbreaks. So far, OPH has administered 139,969 doses and received 172,410.
  • Dr. Vera Etches is urging the province to move Ottawa into the grey lockdown zone.
  • Quebec has now recorded 311,091 cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. The province reported 1,025 new cases today. So far 291,906 have recovered. The death toll is 10,667, up nine. The number in hospital is 485, down two, with 120 in intensive care, down six. The province completed 38,757 tests on March 29 for a total of 7,435,124. Quebec has injected 1,349,326 doses of vaccine so far. So far, 1,652,905 doses have been received in total. The Quebec Institute of Public health says there are 8,518 active COVID-19 cases in the province, an increase of 400 from 24 hours ago.
  • The Outaouais reported 100 new cases of infection for a total of 7,534, along with a total of 173 deaths, up one. Some 6,808 cases have been resolved. There are 454 active cases. There have been 46,340 people in the region vaccinated with at least one dose. The Outaouais is one of four regions in the province with 100 or more cases reported today. The others are: Montreal (348 new, 115,807 total), Quebec City (194 new, 24,137 total), Monteregie (121 new, 44,276 total).
  • Gatineau and the MRC des Collines, which includes communities such as Chelsea, are now under new circuit-breaker restrictions including an 8 p.m. curfew, along with the closure of schools and non-essential businesses. Religious gatherings will be limited to 25 people. Premier Francois Legault said that Quebec City and Levis. The restrictions will be in force until at least April 12. He also asked people to stay at home unless travelling for essential reasons. The premier said the Montreal area is not under these restrictions because case counts in the region seem to be stable and hospitalizations seem under control. But if that changes he says the province is prepared to lock down.
  • Health officials in Quebec City have ordered the Mega Fitness Gym to shut down after a visit revealed “sanitary deficiencies” and an outbreak that led to 68 people contracting COVID-19.
  • Residents of CHSLD Herron, a Montreal-area long-term care facility where 47 died in the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, have reached a $5.5 million settlement with management.
  • Newfoundland and Labrador is reporting one new confirmed case.
  • New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs says he didn’t even feel the needle enter his arm as he got his first shot of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine today. He received a dose originally intended for people under 55. The province reported 12 new cases of COVID-19 Wednesday.
  • Nova Scotia reported two new cases Wednesday, bringing the number of active cases to 23.
  • Another Manitoban has died and health officials say another 71 people have been infected with the virus.
  • Saskatchewan has added two deaths and 191 new cases.
  • Alberta reported 871 new cases, the largest one-day rise since Jan. 14, along with three deaths. Variant cases continue to drive the provine’s escalating case counts with 406 new cases reported Wednesday of the B.1.1.7 variant first identified in the United Kingdom. 
  • British Columbia set a new record for infections identified in a single day, reporting 1,013 cases along with three related deaths. 
  • So far Canada has seen 982,116+ confirmed cases. There have been 22,959+ deaths from the infection and 909,250+ recoveries. There are 46,395+ active cases.
  • Real gross domestic product rose 0.7 per cent in January, following 0.1 per cent growth in December. This ninth consecutive monthly increase continued to offset the steepest drops on record in Canadian economic activity observed in March and April 2020, Statistics Canada says. However, total economic activity was about three per cent below the February level before the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • There have now been 128,301,662+ confirmed cases worldwide with 2,805,972+ deaths and 72,790,172+ recoveries.
  • Pfizer announced Wednesday that its COVID-19 vaccine is safe and strongly protective in youth from 12 to 16 years. In a study of 2,260 U.S. volunteers ages 12 to 15, preliminary data showed there were no cases of COVID-19 among fully vaccinated adolescents compared to 18 among those given placebo injections.
  • The Queen resumed her duties today after six months in isolation at Windsor Castle. She did not wear a mask during a ceremony because the event was outdoors.
  • A batch of Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine failed quality standards and can’t be used, the drug giant said late Wednesday. The drugmaker didn’t say how many doses were lost, and it wasn’t clear how the problem would impact future deliveries.

March 30

  • Ontario has reported it has now seen 347,570 total cases of COVID-19, adding 2,336 cases today. The death toll rose by 14 to 7,351. There are 1090 people in hospital, up173, with 387 in intensive care, up 21, and 249 on a ventilator, up 32. Today the province says there are 727 new cases in Toronto, 434 in Peel, 229 in York Region, 194 in Durham and 123 in Hamilton. There has been a total of 320,409 resolved cases, up 1,477.
  • The province has now identified 1,800 cases of the UK variant, 69 cases of the South African variant and 90 cases of the Brazilian variant. About 68 per of cases in Ontario are now variants of concern.
  • Ontario has administered 2,031,735 doses of vaccine; 311,248 people have been fully vaccinated with two doses of vaccine.
  • The province completed 36,071 tests the previous day. There have been 12,498,641 tests conducted so far. There are 35,066 tests under review.
  • There are 50 long-term care homes reporting an outbreak. There are nine residents with an infection and 113 staff. So far in the pandemic, 3,897 residents have died because of COVID-19 infection.
  • Premier Doug Ford says new restrictions are being considered as the province see a surge in cases caused by variants.
  • Teachers unions in Toronto are calling for remote learning for the four days after the Easter break and for the week after the spring break in April.
  • Education Minister Stephen Lecce says that the spring break beginning April 12 will not be delayed.
  • Ottawa Public Health reported 112 confirmed cases of COVID-19. The province reported 144 in Ottawa. The city has now seen 17,177 cases since the first wave of infections began. The death toll is 463, up three. Thirty-nine are in hospital; 13 in intensive care. There are 1,185 active cases and there have been 15,529 recoveries. Ottawa Public Health is reporting COVID-19 outbreaks at 25 Ottawa institutions, including long-term care homes, retirement homes and hospitals and nine in schools and child-care centres. There are nine other outbreaks. Ottawa has now administered 120,924 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines to date. A total of 136,140 doses of the vaccines have arrived in the city since the start of the pandemic.
  • Officials in Ottawa are telling people not to gather over the Easter long weekend as cases rise in the city. 
  • Quebec has now recorded 310,066 cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. The province reported 864 new cases today. So far 291,290 have recovered. The death toll is 10,658, up seven. The number in hospital is 487, up 10, with 126 in intensive care, up six. The province completed 23,427 tests on March 28 for a total of 7,396,367. Quebec has injected 1,305,840 doses of vaccine so far. So far, 1,553,455 doses have been received in total.
  • The Outaouais reported 57 new cases of infection for a total of 7,434, along with a total of 172 deaths. Some 6,750 cases have been resolved. There are 455 active cases. There have been 45,274 people in the region vaccinated with at least one dose.
  • Police in western Quebec say they broke up a party on Friday in Val-des-Monts contravening COVID-19 gathering rules and handed more than $18,000 in fines.
  • Quebec’s premier said Tuesday that he’s in talks with the Ontario government to “standardize” COVID-19 rules in the Ottawa-Gatineau region after the Outaouais has shot to the top of Quebec’s list of worries. The region is the most alarming right now to Quebec officials, said François Legault at a press conference.
  • The premier also said he’s asked the province’s public safety minister to ensure a police presence over Easter, “to make sure… that [police] would be more present this coming weekend than they usually are.”
  • He defended his government’s decision to bring high-school students back to in-person classes, even in red zones — a move many red zone school boards have said isn’t feasible, choosing instead to stagger returns.
  • Newfoundland and Labrador is reporting two new confirmed cases of COVID-19, raising the number of active cases to four.
  • New Brunswick is reporting 14 new cases of COVID-19 today.
  • Health officials in Prince Edward Island confirm three new cases of COVID-19 today.
  • Nova Scotia too has reported three new cases.
  • Manitoba is reporting no new deaths and 77 additional cases of COVID-19 today.
  • There were 164 new cases reported in Saskatchewan along with one more death.
  • Alberta recorded 576 new cases on Tuesday and four additional deaths as a result of the disease. Of the new cases, 332 — or 57.6 per cent — were variants of concern.
  • British Columbia health officials announced 840 new test-positive COVID-19 cases on Tuesday and no deaths. 
  • So far Canada has seen 975,733+ confirmed cases. There have been 22,919+ deaths from the infection and 906,085+ recoveries. There are 45,208+ active cases.
  • The prime minister said today that Pfizer has agreed to deliver five million doses of vaccine in June, earlier that originally planned. This means Canada should receive about 44 million vaccine doses in total by the end of June, more than enough for every Canadian to receive at least one shot.
  • And Procurement Minister Anita Anand said the federal government is expecting that deliveries of the one-dose Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine will start by the end of April, but she could not provide any details on the numbers of doses expected. Canada has bought 10 million doses of Johnson & Johnson, with the option of securing up to 28 million more.
  • Canada has the worst record for COVID-19 deaths in long-term care homes compared with other wealthy countries, according to a new report released on Tuesday by the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI). The study found the proportion of deaths in nursing homes represented 69 per cent of Canada’s overall COVID-19 deaths, which is significantly higher than the international average of 41 per cent.
  • Dr. Theresa Tam says a 64 per cent increase in the number of COVID-19 variant cases over the past week marks a “most concerning” development. Tam says the country has logged more than 9,000 cases of variants in the past week, with the B117 mutation accounting for more than 90 per cent.
  • There have now been 127,788,017+ confirmed cases worldwide with 2,794,246+ deaths and 72,501,170+ recoveries.
  • The U.S. and a dozen other countries including Canada issued a rare joint statement on Tuesday questioning the validity of a World Health Organization study into the origins of the coronavirus, which was first detected in Wuhan, China, and has now killed almost 2.8 million people across the globe. The WHO’s director, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has also highlighted China’s lack of co-operation. “I do not believe that this assessment was extensive enough,” he said. “Further data and studies will be needed to reach more robust conclusions.”
  • British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and 23 other world leaders including French and German counterparts Emmanuel Macron and Angela Merkel called for a pandemic treaty in a letter printed in newspapers around the world.

March 29

  • Ontario has reported it has now seen 345,234 total cases of COVID-19, adding 2,094 cases today. The death toll rose by 10 to 7,337. There are 917 people in hospital, down 68, with 366 in intensive care, up one, and 217 on a ventilator, up 25. Today the province says there are 618 new cases in Toronto, 368 in Peel, 277 in York Region, and 104 in Durham. There has been a total of 318,932 resolved cases, up 1,524.
  • The province has now identified 1,749 cases of the UK variant, 63 cases of the South African variant and 82 cases of the Brazilian variant. About 68 per of cases in Ontario are now variants of concern. So far, 8,266 cases of variant infection have been confirmed in Canada. About 93 per cent of those cases (7,725) involves the variant first confirmed in the United Kingdom.
  • Ontario has administered 2,031,735 doses of vaccine; 311,248 people have been fully vaccinated with two doses of vaccine.
  • The province completed 39,470 tests the previous day. There have been 12,462,570 tests conducted so far. There are 17,716 tests under review.
  • There are 54 long-term care homes reporting an outbreak. There are nine residents with an infection and 119 staff. So far in the pandemic, 3,893 residents have died because of COVID-19 infection.
  • Ontario Health Minister Christine Elliott, 65, received her shot of AstraZeneca vaccine this morning at a Toronto-area pharmacy. “It’s important for everyone, when it’s their turn, to get a vaccine because the more people that get vaccines, the sooner we’ll be able to go back to a more normal life for everyone,” Elliott said.
  • A briefing note from a panel of science experts advising the Ontario government on COVID-19 reveals variants are circulating widely, new daily infections have reached the same number at the height of the second wave and the number of people hospitalized is now more than 20 per cent higher than at the start of the last province-wide lockdown, states an analysis from Ontario’s COVID-19 Science Advisory Table. “Right now, in Ontario, the pandemic is completely out of control,” said Dr. Peter Juni, the table’s scientific director and a professor of medicine and epidemiology with the University of Toronto.
    People are returning to Canada’s Wonderland but not for the rides. They are coming to a drive-thru vaccination centre located in the parking lot of the massive amusement park in the Scarborough area.
  • Ottawa Public Health reported 184 confirmed cases of COVID-19. (The province reports 132 cases in Ottawa.) The city has now seen 17,065 cases since the first wave of infections began. The death toll is 460. Thirty-six are in hospital; 12 in intensive care. There are 1,133 active cases and there have been 15,472 recoveries. Ottawa Public Health is reporting COVID-19 outbreaks at 28 Ottawa institutions, including long-term care homes, retirement homes and hospitals and nine in schools and child-care centres. There are seven other outbreaks. Ottawa has now administered 120,924 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines to date. A total of 136,140 doses of the vaccines have arrived in the city since the start of the pandemic.
  • People aged 70 and over are eligible to book a COVID-19 vaccination at a mass immunization clinic in Ottawa and communities covered by Kingston, Frontenac and Lennox & Addington Public Health and the Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit. Residents can book vaccine appointments online or by calling 1-888-999-6488 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. The move covers other health units including Hamilton and the Niagara area. Toronto expanded to this age group on Saturday.
  • Thirty-four pharmacies in Ottawa are to receive doses of the AstraZeneca-Oxford COVID-19 vaccine and could be offering shots next week, according to the Ontario Pharmacists Association.
  • Quebec has now recorded 309,202 cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. The province reported 891 new cases today. So far 290,564 have recovered. The death toll is 10,651, up four. The number in hospital is 477, down three, with 120 in intensive care, up six. The province completed 22,121 tests on March 27 for a total of 7,372,940. Quebec has injected 1,261,855 doses of vaccine so far. So far, 1,380,295 doses have been received in total.
  • The Outaouais reported 84 new cases of infection for a total of 7,377, along with a total of 172 deaths. Some 6,750 cases have been resolved. There are 455 active cases. There have been 43,714 people in the region vaccinated with at least one dose.
  • Quebec Health Minister Christian Dube says the province is experiencing a third wave of COVID-19.
  • There have been no new cases reported in Newfoundland and Nova Scotia.
  • New Brunswick reported 11 new cases of infection.
  • Manitoba has reported 53 new cases of infection today.
  • There are 202 new cases of COVID-19 reported in Saskatchewan today.
  • Alberta reported 545 new confirmed cases of infection.
  • British Columbia is imposing a three-week circuit breaker lockdown that closes, among other things, indoor dining, indoor fitness classes, closes indoor religious gatherings, limits travel, urges working from home except and limits gatherings to just 10 people. The Whistler-Blackcomb ski resort has been closed because of rising cases including those caused by the P1 variant of concern first identified in Brazil. The circuit-breaker will last to April 19. The province has seen six more deaths from the virus and 2,518 new cases over the weekend.
  • So far Canada has seen 969,625+ confirmed cases. There have been 22,900+ deaths from the infection and 901,261+ recoveries. There are 43,590+ active cases.
  • The National Advisory Committee on Immunization is advising a pause on the use of AstraZeneca on individuals 55 and under for unspecified safety reasons. This seems to be related to examples of a form of a rare blood clotting condition similar to thrombocytopenia called Vipid that have been found mostly in young women in Europe, although some cases have happened in young men. None have occurred in Canada. The clotting can occur up to four weeks after injection. Some say the incidence is one in a million, others say one in 100,000.
  • Canada’s public medical officers of health have urged a pause on the use of the vaccine in the under 55 age group. Quebec, Ontario, Newfoundland and Labrador, British Columbia, Alberta and Manitoba have paused use along with PEI, the first to do so earlier in the day. The agencies say that if a person has received the vaccine 20 or more days earlier, they are passed the window of incidence. Symptoms of clotting emerge starting four days after injection of the vaccine.
  • Health Canada is reviewing the vaccine as it relates to these incidents.
  • Canada is to receive 1.5 million doses of AstraZeneca by truck Tuesday. Timing is everything.
  • The prime minister is participating in a meeting of leaders called by UN Secretary General António Guterres to discuss global recovery in the wake of the pandemic.
  • The Canada Border Services Agency has caught 30 people who have allegedly tried to enter the country with suspected fake COVID-19 test results.
  • There have now been 127,442,926+ confirmed cases worldwide with 2,787,915+ deaths and 72,276,724+ recoveries.
  • The Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines are extremely effective in the real world, reducing infections by 90 per cent in fully vaccinated people, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Monday.
  • A joint World Health Organization-China study on the origins of COVID-19 says that transmission of the virus from bats to humans through another animal is the most likely scenario and that a lab leak is “extremely unlikely.”
  • U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken says the Biden administration has grave concerns about the veracity of this report as it has been written in large part by Chinese scientists who work for the Chinese government.
  • While President Joe Biden celebrates the fact that 90 per cent of Americans should be eligible for vaccination within the next few weeks, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, head of the U.S. CDC, warned of rising cases. She said she felt a rising sense of doom about the latest surge. The U.S. has now seen 30,291,863+ cases and 549,664+ deaths.

March 28

  • Ontario has reported it has now seen 343,140 total cases of COVID-19, adding 2,448 cases today. The death toll rose by 19 to 7,327. There are 917 people in hospital, down 68, with 366 in intensive care, up one, and 217 on a ventilator, up 25. Today the province says there are 780 new cases in Toronto, 356 in Peel, 278 in York Region and 219 in Durham. There has been a total of 317,408 resolved cases, up 1,543.
  • The province has now identified 1,625 cases of the UK variant, 63 cases of the South African variant and 67 cases of the Brazilian variant.
  • Ontario has administered 1,981,282 doses of vaccine; 309,285 people have been fully vaccinated with two doses of vaccine.
  • The province completed 50,227 tests the previous day. There have been 12,423,100 tests conducted so far. There are 25,452 tests under review.
  • There are 50 long-term care homes reporting an outbreak. There are nine residents with an infection and 115 staff. So far in the pandemic, 3,893 residents have died because of COVID-19 infection.
  • Ottawa Public Health reported 126 confirmed cases of COVID-19. (The province reports 150 cases in Ottawa.) The city has now seen 16,881 cases since the first wave of infections began. The death toll is 459. Thirty-four are in hospital; 11 in intensive care. There are 1,029 active cases and there have been 15,393 recoveries. Ottawa Public Health is reporting COVID-19 outbreaks at 27 Ottawa institutions, including long-term care homes, retirement homes and hospitals and 11 in schools and child-care centres. There are seven other outbreaks. Ottawa has now administered more than 118,000 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines to date. A total of 133,440 doses of the vaccines have arrived in the city since the start of the pandemic.
  • Quebec has now recorded 308,311 cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. The province reported 917 new cases today. So far 289,827 have recovered. The death toll is 10,647, up two. The number in hospital is 480, down one, with 114 in intensive care, up six. The province completed 29,407 tests on March 26 for a total of 7,350,819. Quebec has injected 1,222,884 doses of vaccine so far. So far, 1,380,295 doses have been received in total.
  • The Outaouais reported 50 new cases of infection for a total of 7,293, along with a total of 172 deaths. Some 6,701 cases have been resolved. There are 420 active cases. There have been 41,050 people in the region vaccinated with at least one dose.
  • So far Canada has seen 964,448+ confirmed cases. There have been 22,880+ deaths from the infection and 897,749+ recoveries. There are 42,025+ active cases.
  • There have now been 127,014,568+ confirmed cases worldwide with 2,780,749+ deaths and 71,959,136+ recoveries.

March 27

  • Ontario has reported it has now seen 340,692 total cases of COVID-19, adding 2,453 cases today. The death toll rose by 16 to 7,308. There are 985 people in hospital, up 72, with 365 in intensive care, up six, and 192 on a ventilator, down 23. Today the province says there are 814 new cases in Toronto, 411 in Peel, 263 in York Region, 156 in Hamilton, 139 in Durham and 115 in Ottawa. There has been a total of 315,865 resolved cases, up 1,481.
  • The province has now identified 1,523 cases of the UK variant, 63 cases of the South African variant and 61 cases of the Brazilian variant.
  • Ontario has administered 1,916,332 doses of vaccine; 308,301 people have been fully vaccinated with two doses of vaccine.
  • The province completed 61,005 tests the previous day. There have been 12,372,873 tests conducted so far. There are 33,065 tests under review.
  • There are 50 long-term care homes reporting an outbreak. There are nine residents with an infection and 115 staff. So far in the pandemic, 3,893 residents have died because of COVID-19 infection.
  • The Ontario Public School Boards’ Association (OPSBA) argues teachers should be vaccinated as early as possible in Phase 2 of the province’s immunization rollout to keep children in classrooms.
  • Ottawa Public Health reported 133 confirmed cases of COVID-19. The city has now seen 16,755 cases since the first wave of infections began. The death toll is 459. Thirty are in hospital; 10 in intensive care. There are 954 active cases and there have been 15,342 recoveries. Ottawa Public Health is reporting COVID-19 outbreaks at 27 Ottawa institutions, including long-term care homes, retirement homes and hospitals and 12 in schools and child-care centres. There are six other outbreaks. Ottawa has now administered more than 118,000 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines to date. A total of 133,440 doses of the vaccines have arrived in the city since the start of the pandemic.
  • CTV reports Ottawa pharmacies will be included in the next round of vaccine distribution when the AstraZeneca doses arrive in Ontario from the United States. Canada is scheduled to receive 1.5 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine by truck next week.
  • The Ottawa Carleton District School Board is warning parents that, “the current school case numbers are at the highest levels we have seen all year. New COVID variants are increasingly reported in our community and have been identified in Ottawa schools. This is creating serious staff shortages. Over the last week, several OCDSB schools have had to pivot to remote learning.”
  • More than 44,500 Ottawa residents have booked an appointment to get the COVID-19 vaccination since the Ontario government opened its online booking system two weeks ago. In a memo to Council, emergency and protective services general manager Anthony Di Monte updated the COVID-19 vaccination rollout. Mayor Jim Watson shared the memo on Twitter.
  • Quebec has now recorded 307,394 cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. The province reported 1,009 new cases today. So far 289,132 have recovered. The death toll is 10,645, up eight. The number in hospital is 481, with 108 in intensive care, down seven. The province completed 31,411 tests on March 25 for a total of 7,321,412. Quebec has injected 1,176,670 doses of vaccine so far. So far, 1,380,295 doses have been received in total.
  • The Outaouais reported 68 new cases of infection for a total of 7,243, along with a total of 172 deaths, up one. Some 6,615 cases have been resolved. There are 389 active cases. There have been 37,715 people in the region vaccinated with at least one dose.
  • So far Canada has seen 956,655+ confirmed cases. There have been 22,826+ deaths from the infection and 893,469+ recoveries. There are 40,360+ active cases.
  • There have now been 126,389,672+ confirmed cases worldwide with 2,771,260+ deaths and 71,618,100+ recoveries.

March 26

  • Canada could see 1,005,020 COVID-19 cases and 23,315 virus-related deaths by April 4 because of variant spread, the Public Health Agency of Canada warns. Cases could spike beyond 12,000 daily cases if public health measures are loosened. Measures must be stricter and last longer to control variant spread. PHAC says this could cause the case count to plateau. Dr. Theresa Tam warned people to avoid gatherings during Easter and Passover.
  • The highest rate of infection is in the 20 to 39 age group. There are now 7,104+ confirmed cases of variant infection in Canada, 90 per cent of these are B117 infection, the variant first identified in the U.K.
  • Tam says she is hopeful Canadians will be much less restricted by the fall as vaccines are widely in place, but she cautions that social distancing and other practices will likely need to continue even after that.
  • Ontario has reported it has now seen 338,239 total cases of COVID-19, adding 2,169 cases today. The death toll rose by 12 to 7,292. There are 913 people in hospital, up 19, with 359 in intensive care, up 27, and 215 on a ventilator, up three. Today the province says there are 682 new cases in Toronto, 397 in Peel, 254 in York Region, 129 in Ottawa, 123 in Durham and 122 in Hamilton. There has been a total of 314,384 resolved cases, up 1,675.
  • The Ontario Hospital Association says there are currently 401 in ICU, closing in on the record of 420 experience during the post-Boxing Day surge.
  • The province has now identified 1,494 cases of the UK variant, 60 cases of the South African variant and 58 cases of the Brazilian variant.
  • A briefing note prepared for the province, which is expected to be made public early next week, shows variants substantially increase the risk of serious illness when compared to the initial strain of SARS-CoV-2, including 60 per cent increased risk of hospitalization; 100 per cent increased risk of being admitted to an ICU and a 60 per cent increased risk of death. The data didn’t differentiate between variants, though most instances in Ontario right now are the B117 variant first identified in southeast England. The Ontario figures were also pooled with data from Denmark and the U.K., two countries hit hard by B117, several sources explained to CBC, with local data falling in line with those earlier international findings. 
  • Ontario has administered 1,838,592 doses of vaccine; 306,373 people have been fully vaccinated with two doses of vaccine.
  • The province completed 53,436 tests the previous day. There have been 12,311,868 tests conducted so far. There are 37,364 tests under review.
  • There are 45 long-term care homes reporting an outbreak. There are eight residents with an infection and 101 staff. So far in the pandemic, 3,892 residents have died because of COVID-19 infection.
  • Because of rising cases, the province is moving Hamilton into a grey zone lockdown and the Eastern Ontario Health Unit into the red zone.
  • The province announced changes for personal care services in grey-lockdown zones. As of April 12, services including, but not limited to: hair and nail salons, barber shops and body art establishments will be allowed to open at limited capacity by appointment only. The government also announced that outdoor fitness classes and outdoor training for team and individual sports will be permitted in the grey-level lockdown zones as of Monday. 
  • The city of Toronto is opening up vaccinations to people 70 and up.
  • Ottawa Public Health reported 139 confirmed cases of COVID-19. The city has now seen 16,622 cases since the first wave of infections began. The death toll is 459. Twenty-nine are in hospital; eight in intensive care. There are 895 active cases and there have been 15,268 recoveries. Ottawa Public Health is reporting COVID-19 outbreaks at 26 Ottawa institutions, including long-term care homes, retirement homes and hospitals and 13 in schools and child-care centres. There are six other outbreaks. Ottawa has now administered 110,116 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines to date.  A total of 133,440 doses of the vaccines have arrived in the city since the start of the pandemic.
  • Quebec has now recorded 306,385 cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. The province reported 950 new cases today. So far 288,384 have recovered. The death toll is 10,637, up seven. The number in hospital is 481, down 15, with 115 in intensive care, down two. The province completed 37,698 tests on March 24 for a total of 7,290,041. Quebec has injected 1,121,958 doses of vaccine so far. So far, 1,380,295 doses have been received in total.
  • The Outaouais reported 89 new cases of infection for a total of 7,175, along with a total of 171 deaths. Some 6,573 cases have been resolved. There are 342 active cases. There have been 34,147 people in the region vaccinated with at least one dose.
  • Premier Francois Legault was vaccinated today. He told reporters the province is reassessing the current state of restrictions and cases and will provide an update on Tuesday. Asked about a recent decision to allow students, wearing masks, back into high school, he said it was a risk worth taking.
  • Nova Scotia is reporting five new cases of COVID-19 on Friday. Health officials are advising residents to avoid non-essential travel to northwestern New Brunswick because of a rise in COVID-19 cases in the area.
  • New Brunswick is reporting 13 new cases today, all in the Edmundston area.
  • Manitoba is reporting 116 new cases and three more deaths. About 32 per cent of new cases are variant infections. The province loosened restrictions on outdoor gatherings to 25 people.
  • Saskatchewan is reporting eight more deaths along with 213 new infections.
  • Alberta reported 717 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, along with three more deaths.
  • British Columbia health officials announced 908 new cases on Friday, the highest one-day case increase since November. There were three more deaths.
  • So far Canada has seen 954,815+ confirmed cases. There have been 22,809+ deaths from the infection and 881,525+ recoveries. There are 38,922+ active cases.
  • Canada will receive six million doses of Pfizer and Moderna vaccines in April, says Procurement Minister Anita Anand. She said 1.5 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine will arrive t=from the U.S. by truck on Tuesday, March 30.
  • There have now been 125,650,992+ confirmed cases worldwide with 2,757,536+ deaths and 71,197,055+ recoveries.

March 25

  • Ontario has reported it has now seen 336,070 total cases of COVID-19, adding 2,380 cases today. The death toll rose by 17 to 7,280. There are 894 people in hospital, up one, with 332 in intensive care, down one, and 212 on a ventilator, down five. Today the province says there are 1,016 new cases in Toronto, 294 in Peel and 244 in York Region. There has been a total of 312,709 resolved cases, up 1,329.
  • The province has now identified 1,458 cases of the UK variant, 51 cases of the South African variant and 54 cases of the Brazilian variant.
  • Ontario has administered 1,755,596 doses of vaccine; 304,386 people have been fully vaccinated with two doses of vaccine.
  • The province completed 60,077 tests the previous day. There have been 12,258,432 tests conducted so far. There are 36,916 tests under review.
  • There are 52 long-term care homes reporting an outbreak. There are 11 residents with an infection and 104 staff. So far in the pandemic, 3,892 residents have died because of COVID-19 infection.
  • Dr. Peter Juni of the Ontario COVID-19 Science Advisory Table says even the strictest level of the province’s current pandemic framework isn’t enough to reduce current infection rates. He says stricter restrictions are needed.
  • Media reports indicate the province is considering making remote learning permanent in the public school system. In the 2021 budget, the Ford government committed $40 million to “to help ensure that students and teachers can seamlessly participate in remote learning in response to COVID‐19, and for the future.”
  • Public health officials in Hamilton say a nurse has been fired and several others have been disciplined after COVID-19 vaccines were given to relatives. The health unit says seven doses were administered to individuals related to a staff member.
  • Ottawa Public Health reported 151 confirmed cases of COVID-19. The city has now seen 16,483 cases since the first wave of infections began. The death toll is 459, up two. Twenty-six are in hospital; eight in intensive care. There are 817 active cases and there have been 15,207 recoveries. Ottawa Public Health is reporting COVID-19 outbreaks at 26 Ottawa institutions, including long-term care homes, retirement homes and hospitals and 16 in schools and child-care centres. There are four other outbreaks.
  • Ottawa has now administered 106,508 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines to date.  A total of 133,440 doses of the vaccines have arrived in the city since the start of the pandemic.
  • Health officials in the Ottawa region say they don’t have enough COVID-19 vaccine supply to keep up with the demand, which is amplified by the province expanding eligibility faster than expected. CBC has more.
  • Mayor Jim Watson has written to Ontario’s Ministry of Health, asking that Ottawa be “urgently prioritized” to allow pharmacies to administer the COVID-19 vaccine. Only pharmacies in Kingston, Toronto and Windsor-Essex are administering the COVID-19 vaccine.
  • Ottawa Public Health is asking Ontario’s chief medical officer of health to clarify new rules for dining at bars and restaurants in the orange and red zones.  Dr. Vera Etches says she is prepared to implement “local solutions” to prohibit dining on patios with people who aren’t in the same household, CTV reports. Ontario introduced new rules for bars and restaurant capacity for areas in the Orange-Restrict and Red-Control levels of the province’s COVID-19 reopening framework last Friday, saying only members of the same household can sit together while indoors.
  • An average of only 65 per cent of long-term care staff working in Ottawa long-term care homes have been vaccinated, CBC reports.
  • A report for the City of Ottawa’s finance and economic development committee shows federal and provincial funding, along with efficiencies, allowed the city to post a budget surplus last year of $22 million. The pandemic itself cost the city about $238.5 million.
  • The City of Ottawa is remembering 457 lives lost to the pandemic with an interfaith service. Flags at Ottawa City Hall will fly at half-mast today. On March 25, 2020, the city reported a man in his 90s died at the Ottawa Hospital of COVID-19, five days after he was admitted with a fever.
  • Quebec has now recorded 305,435 cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. The province reported 945 new cases today. So far 287,632 have recovered. The death toll is 10,630, up four. The number in hospital is 496, down 12, with 117 in intensive care, down one. The province completed 36,197 tests on March 23 for a total of 7,252,343. Quebec has injected 1,065,823 doses of vaccine so far.
  • The Outaouais reported 55 new cases of infection for a total of 7,086, along with a total of 171 deaths. Some 6,536 cases have been resolved. There are 324 active cases. There have been 30,636 people in the region vaccinated with at least one dose.
  • Quebec announced Thursday that places of worship will be able to allow gatherings of a maximum of 250 people starting Friday. Institutions will be allowed to welcome more people indoors, whether they are in a red, orange or yellow alert zones, according to a news release from the ministry of health.  Certain public health measures will remain in place, including lowering the number of people in indoor spaces to ensure physical distancing of two metres is still maintained. Face masks will also be mandatory at all times. The loosened restrictions do not apply to weddings and funerals. Places of worship in orange and red alert zones must still limit the number of people to 25 for those types of gatherings, while in yellow alert zones the maximum is 50 people. The new policy comes into effect the same day gyms can reopen.
  • Quebec announced Thursday it is pushing back its timeline for balancing the budget and focusing short-term spending on supporting the health-care system and the economy. Finance Minister Eric Girard tabled a “pandemic budget” that projects a deficit of $12.3 billion for the 2021-22 fiscal year.
  • Girard said the province will spend an additional $4.2 billion this year on measures related to COVID-19. That is in addition to the nearly $12 billion spent so far. 
  • For first time in half a year, Newfoundland and Labrador is down to one active case of COVID-19.
  • With 24 of New Brunswick‘s 30 new cases of COVID-19 in the Edmundston region, the province is putting the city and some surrounding areas into a “circuit-breaker” lockdown for the next four days.
  • Nova Scotia‘s Liberal government is projecting a $585-million deficit in a 2021-22 budget that focuses on pandemic expenses and boosting its health-care system. The province reported three new cases of COVID-19 today.
  • Manitoba is reporting 111 new infections and new outbreaks connected to the virus in Winnipeg.
  • Saskatchewan reported 168 new cases and two more deaths today.
  • Alberta reported 764 new cases and three more deaths. Variant infections now make up 21 per cent of all cases.
  • Health officials in British Columbia reported another 800 cases of COVID-19 over the past 24 hours, along with five more deaths. Dr. Bonnie Henry also announced that restrictions regarding visitors to long-term care homes will be eased April 1, while certain indoor faith services will be allowed over the coming weeks.
  • So far Canada has seen 950,355+ confirmed cases. There have been 22,784+ deaths from the infection and 887,840+ recoveries. There are 37,100+ active cases.
  • The federal government will provide a one-time payment of $7 billion to provinces, territories, cities and First Nations communities to help them cover the cost of health services, COVID-19 vaccination campaigns and infrastructure projects. The cash is included in bill, C-25 tabled in the House of Commons this morning.
  • The federal auditor general says the government moved as fast as it could to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, but it wasn’t prepared for one in the first place. Karen Hogan’s report found the Public Health Agency of Canada spent years letting elements of pandemic preparedness slide and COVID-19 left it scrambling. She also found the government’s financial support programs rolled out well, but now extensive efforts will be needed to ensure the money went where it was supposed to.
  • Hogan says the pandemic has made it clear the government cannot just ignore long-standing problems, because they’ll never go away. She says among those issues is weakness in pan-Canadian co-ordination. She’s now calling for an independent review to get the country on better footing for the next national emergency.
  • The dose-sharing deal with the United States has been finalized releasing 1.5 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine that are to arrive next week, Maj.-Gen. Dany Fortin announced Thursday.
  • There have now been 124,928,590+ confirmed cases worldwide with 2,746,180+ deaths and 70,878,003+ recoveries.
  • U.S. President Joe Biden is targeting 200 million doses of COVID vaccine administered by the end of his first 100 days in office on April 29.

March 24

  • The Ontario government’s second COVID budget projects a deficit of $33.1 billion down from the record $38.5 billion deficit logged in 2020. The budget forecasts a surplus by 2029-30, subject to economic growth.
  • COVID spending: The province will spend $1 billion on its vaccination campaign. The province is also committing $2.3 billion to fund COVID-19 testing and contact tracing in 2021 and 2022. The budget commits $1.8 billion to provide care for COVID-19 patients and tackle surgical backlogs lengthened during the pandemic.
  • Economic supports: The Small Business Support Grant returns with a second round of payments for approximately 120,000 small businesses. They will receive a second payment of between $10,000 and $20,000. Business owners do not need to re-apply. A further $100 million program will help tourism and hospitality businesses, which will be eligible for one-time payments between $10,000 and $20,000.
  • Funding families: The Ontario COVID-19 Child Benefit doubles and will return for a third round, this time providing a one-time payment of $400 per child and $500 per child with special needs. The child care tax credit will grow by 20 per cent this year only increasing support to $1,500 on average.
  • The budget commits $2.3 billion over the next four years to the province’s long-term care sector. The money will result in “a development pipeline” of 20,161 new beds by 2025 and 30,000 beds by 2028, the government says. The new spaces will be at for-profit and public facilities.
  • Ontario has reported it has now seen 333,690 total cases of COVID-19, adding 1,571 cases today. The death toll rose by 10 to 7,263. There are 893 people in hospital, up 25, with 333 in intensive care, up nine, and 210 on a ventilator, up 17. Today the province says there are 459 new cases in Toronto, 309 in Peel and 143 in York Region. There has been a total of 311,380 resolved cases, up 1,531.
  • The province has now identified 1,389 cases of the UK variant, 50 cases of the South African variant and 47 cases of the Brazilian variant.
  • So far 6,211 cases of variant infection have been detected in Canada, 5,812 are the variant first identified in the United Kingdom.
  • Ontario has administered 1,676,150 doses of vaccine; 302,664 people have been fully vaccinated with two doses of vaccine.
  • The province completed 51,962 tests the previous day. There have been 12,198,355 tests conducted so far. There are 38,985 tests under review.
  • There are 52 long-term care homes reporting an outbreak. There are 11 residents with an infection and 104 staff. So far in the pandemic, 3,892 residents have died because of COVID-19 infection.
  • About 4,000 employees of the University Health Network (UHN) in Toronto have not been vaccinated against COVID-19, prompting an internal email from its president urging them to get immunized.
  • Ottawa Public Health reported 80 confirmed cases of COVID-19. The city has now seen 16,332 cases since the first wave of infections began. The death toll is 457. Twenty-seven are in hospital; six in intensive care. There are 747 active cases and there have been 15,128 recoveries. Ottawa Public Health is reporting COVID-19 outbreaks at 25 Ottawa institutions, including long-term care homes, retirement homes and hospitals and 12 in schools and child-care centres. There are four other outbreaks. There have been 99,886 doses of vaccine administered. The city has received 133,440.
  • Quebec has now recorded 304,490 cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. The province reported 783 new cases today. So far 286,946 have recovered. The death toll is 10,626, up eight. The number in hospital is 508, down 11, with 118 in intensive care, up five. The province completed 36,381  tests on March 22 for a total of 7,216,146. Quebec has injected 1,024,713 doses of vaccine so far. The province has received 1,296,055 doses to date.
  • The Outaouais reported 64 new cases of infection for a total of 7,031, along with a total of 171 deaths. Some 6,506 cases have been resolved. There are 290 active cases. There have been 28,991 people in the region vaccinated with at least one dose.
  • Quebec Premier Francois Legault‘s optimism that his province is resisting a third wave caused by variants may be misplaced, the Montreal Gazette reports. There was a jump of 162 in the number of confirmed B.1.1.7 variant cases in Quebec on Tuesday, with most of that increase occurring in Montreal. And Quebec is reporting the highest number of confirmed cases of the B.1.351 variant in Canada. Quebec has posted a cumulative total of 107 cases of this variant that first emerged in South Africa, compared with 47 in Ontario and 41 in British Columbia.
  • In less than two weeks, the number of presumptive variant cases in the Outaouais has more than tripled — rising from 56 on March 11 to 188 Tuesday.
  • Quebec’s public health director says the province is recommending only a single dose of vaccine to people who have previously been infected with the virus. The move, announced by Dr. Horacio Arruda, appears to make Quebec only the second jurisdiction in the world, after France, to go with this policy.
  • Newfoundland and Labrador reported one new case today. There are three active cases left in the province and one person in hospital. The province easing restrictions and moving to alert level two of its COVID response plan.
  • Health officials in New Brunswick confirm a dozen new COVID-19 cases Wednesday
  • Five new cases were reported by health officials in Nova Scotia. There are now 24 active cases in the province.
  • Manitoba health officials announced 81 new cases.
  • Saskatchewan added 190 new confirmed cases and one more death.
  • Alberta is reporting 692 new cases of COVID-19 along with two new deaths. The province says it has found 202 new cases of variant infection.
  • British Columbia health officials announced another 716 diagnoses and three more deaths.
  • So far Canada has seen 946,270+ confirmed cases. There have been 22,759+ deaths from the infection and 885,412+ recoveries. There are 36,310+ active cases.
  • The federal government says it does not believe COVID-19 vaccine shipments to Canada would be affected by export restrictions being imposed by the European Union. Some 255,600 doses of Moderna vaccine arrived in Canada today.
  • The Canadian Armed Forces will help 23 First Nations communities in Manitoba with their vaccination efforts until at least June. There are 1,083 active COVID cases on reserves. where more than 70 per cent of adults have been vaccinated twice.
  • Despite the growing need for health care professionals, job vacancies in the sector are on the rise, according to the latest data from Statistic Canada. Job vacancies in health care and social assistance went up by 36,400, or 56.9 per cent, during the last quarter of 2020, bringing vacancies to a “record high” of 100,300, the data shows.
  • The Coalition of Hardest Hit Businesses is calling for the federal wage subsidy and rent subsidy to continue until Dec. 31. The coalition represents hotel, tourism, arts, culture and hospitality industries. Almost 6,000 businesses responded to a survey and 60 per cent said they would fail without sustained access to federal support programs.
  • WestJet says it will restore flights to Charlottetown, Fredericton, Moncton, Sydney and Quebec City beginning June 24 through to June 30. Service between St. John’s, Nfld., and Toronto, which was indefinitely suspended in October, will resume on June 24. And WestJest is advancing the restart of service between St. John’s and Halifax from June 24 to May 6.
  • There have now been 124,320,576+ confirmed cases worldwide with 2,736,452+ deaths and 70,539,821+ recoveries.
  • Brazil recorded 3,241 deaths from COVID today, the highest number so far in the pandemic. Brazil is in the throes of its worst surge. This brings the country’s death toll to 298,676.
  • Pope Francis, in a decree, said that starting in April cardinals’ salaries will be reduced 10 per cent. Superiors of the Holy See’s various departments will be hit by eight per cent cuts while lower-ranking priests and nuns will see three per cent vanish from their paycheques. In the decree he signed on Tuesday, the pope noted that the Holy See’s finances have been marked by several years of deficit. The cuts are being made to protect jobs in the Vatican.
  • Indian researchers say they have spotted a ‘double mutant’ COVID variant that may spread easier and make vaccines less potent. The variant was detected in samples taken in the western state of Maharashtra. They say the variant is a hybrid of two different COVID strains — a rare event which occurs when two viruses merge inside an infected person. 
  • India has temporarily suspended exports of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine produced by the Serum Institute of India (SII) to meet domestic demand as cases rise.

March 23

  • Ontario has reported it has now seen 332,119 total cases of COVID-19, adding 1,546 cases today. The death toll rose by nine to 7,253. There are 868 people in hospital, up 55, with 324 in intensive care, up 26, and 193 on a ventilator, up seven. Today the province says there are 465 new cases in Toronto, 329 in Peel and 161 in York Region. There has been a total of 309,849 resolved cases, up 1,271.
  • The province has now identified 1,359 cases of the UK variant, 47 cases of the South African variant and 37 cases of the Brazilian variant. Ontario’s science advisory table says variants make up more than 50 per cent of all new cases in the province. In Canada, more than 5,100 cases of variant infection have been recorded.
  • Ontario has administered 1,603,699 doses of vaccine; 301,043 people have been fully vaccinated with two doses of vaccine.
  • The province completed 32,556 tests the previous day. There have been 12,146,393 tests conducted so far. There are 31,325 tests under review.
  • There are 52 long-term care homes reporting an outbreak. There are 10 residents with an infection and 99 staff. So far in the pandemic, 3,892 residents have died because of COVID-19 infection.
  • Ontario will reveal its budget Wednesday. Reports suggest provincial spending will focus on COVID-19 recovery
  • Ottawa Public Health reported 64 confirmed cases of COVID-19. The city has now seen 16,252 cases since the first wave of infections began. The death toll is 457, up one. Twenty-five are in hospital; four in intensive care. There are 755 active cases and there have been 15,040 recoveries. Ottawa Public Health is reporting COVID-19 outbreaks at 25 Ottawa institutions, including long-term care homes, retirement homes and hospitals and 12 in schools and child-care centres. There are five other outbreaks. There have been 92,293 doses of vaccine administered. The city has received 97,170.
  • The Eastern Ontario Health Unit (EOHU) will likely move from orange to the more restrictive red zone on the province’s COVID-19 framework this week, says Dr. Paul Roumeliotis, medical officer of health for the area east of Ottawa.
  • Quebec has now recorded 303,707 cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. The province reported 656 new cases today. So far 286,347 have recovered. The death toll is 10,618, up four. The number in hospital is 519, up six, with 113 in intensive care, down one. The province completed 21,833  tests on March 21 for a total of 7,179,765. Quebec has injected 993,102 doses of vaccine so far. The province has received 1,296,055 doses to date.
  • The Outaouais reported 50 new cases of infection for a total of 6,967, along with a total of 171 deaths. Some 6,460 cases have been resolved. There are 286 active cases. There have been 28,162 people in the region vaccinated with at least one dose.
  • Rising cases in the Outaouais threaten to put the region in the provincial red zone. The wider Gatineau region has seen case counts trend up for about four weeks, said Dr. Brigitte Pinard, who is the interim director of public health for Centre intégré de santé et des services sociaux de l’Outaouais (CISSSO).
  • After experiencing a surge in new infections, Newfoundland and Labrador reported no new cases again today. There are only two active cases left in the province and one person in hospital.
  • New Brunswick Public Health reports seven new cases. The province has 56 active cases.
  • One new case was reported by health officials in Nova Scotia. There are 21 active cases in the province.
  • Manitoba health officials announced 98 new cases and one death. The provincial government is raising the limit on outdoor gatherings to 25 people from 10. The maximum allowed at weddings and funerals rises to 25 as well. A 50 per cent capacity rule for retail outlets is to max out at 500 people rather than 250. Other openings have been postponed because of rising variant cases.
  • Saskatchewan added 150 new confirmed cases and one more death.
  • Alberta is making rapid testing kits available to employers. The province reported 465 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, including 197 new variant cases. Alberta has the highest amount of COVID-19 variant cases in Canada as of Tuesday. There are currently 1,127 active variant cases in the province.
  • Health officials in British Columbia reported another 682 new cases of COVID-19 in British Columbia along with one death.
  • So far Canada has seen 940,520+ confirmed cases. There have been 22,727+ deaths from the infection and 881,430+ recoveries. There are 35,844+ active cases.
  • The federal government will deliver its first budget in two years on April 19. Many are speculating ot will trigger a national election. This will be Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland’s first budget.
  • Health Canada is devising a warning about a rare possible side-effect of blood clots from the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine but the department says it is still certain the inoculation is safe and effective against COVID-19.
  • Canada is receiving 846,000 doses of the vaccine from Moderna this week, split between two shipments. The first shipment was to arrive this morning in Canada, but is now set to arrive Wednesday, according to federal officials.
  • There have now been 123,287,417+ confirmed cases worldwide with 2,725,892+ deaths and 70,256,708+ recoveries.
  • Results from a U.S. trial of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine may have used “outdated information,” U.S. federal health officials say. The Data and Safety Monitoring Board said in a statement early Tuesday that it was concerned that AstraZeneca may have provided an incomplete view of the efficacy data. AstraZeneca reported Monday that its COVID-19 vaccine provided strong protection among adults of all ages in a long-anticipated U.S. study, a finding that could help rebuild public confidence in the shot around the world and move it a step closer to clearance in the U.S.
  • Sleeping an extra hour each night can decrease the chance of catching coronavirus by 12 per cent. However, taking a nap in the afternoon raises the risk by six per cent, scientists have found. U.S. researchers surveyed 2,884 healthcare workers between July and September in Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United States, 568 of whom had already had COVID. They found that the risk of coronavirus was greater for those who had trouble sleeping and those who felt “burned out” by their job.
  • The European Commission will tighten its export guidelines on Wednesday to prevent what it sees as an unfair one-way flow of vaccines. Negotiations with the British government continue behind the scenes to head off the threat of a general vaccine export ban. The measure, put in place to monitor exports from EU territory and if necessary to block them, has already been used once to prevent an AstraZeneca shipment leaving Italy for Australia. But the draft of the updated rule complains of countries preventing exports to the EU “either by law or through contractual or other arrangements concluded with vaccine manufacturers”.

March 22

  • Ontario has reported it has now seen 330,573 total cases of COVID-19, adding 1,699 cases today. The death toll rose by three to 7,244. There are 813 people in hospital, up 53, with 298 in intensive care, down seven, and 186 on a ventilator. Today the province says there are 500 new cases in Toronto, 318 in Peel 155 in York Region and 114 in Hamilton. There has been a total of 308,578 resolved cases, up 1,175.
  • The province has now identified 1,340 cases of the UK variant, 48 cases of the South African variant and 36 cases of the Brazilian variant. Ontario’s science advisory table says variants make up more than 50 per cent of all new cases in the province.
  • Ontario has administered 1,553,040 doses of vaccine; 299,297 people have been fully vaccinated with two doses of vaccine.
  • The province completed 31,089 tests the previous day. There have been 12,113,837 tests conducted so far. There are 14,407 tests under review.
  • There are 56 long-term care homes reporting an outbreak. There are 12 residents with an infection and 110 staff. So far in the pandemic, 3,891 residents have died because of COVID-19 infection.
  • Ontarians aged 75 and older can start scheduling COVID-19 vaccine appointments through the province’s booking portal today. As well, pharmacies will begin offering the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine to residents aged 60 and above. Ottawa will find out which pharmacies later today.
  • Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit (LGL) moves from yellow to red today. Kingston, Frontenac and Lennox & Addington (KFL&A) Public Health goes from green to yellow.
  • Ottawa Public Health reported 81 confirmed cases of COVID-19. The city has now seen 16,188 cases since the first wave of infections began. The death toll is 456, up two. Twenty-four are in hospital; four in intensive care. There are 759 active cases and there have been 14,973 recoveries. Ottawa Public Health is reporting COVID-19 outbreaks at 24 Ottawa institutions, including long-term care homes, retirement homes and hospitals and 11 in schools and child-care centres. There are three other outbreaks. There have been 92,293 doses of vaccine administered. The city has received 97,170.
  • Quebec has now recorded 303,051 cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. The province reported 712 new cases today. So far 285,682 have recovered. The death toll is 10,614, up 15. The number in hospital is 513, up 12, with 114 in intensive care, up 12. The province completed 20,216 tests on March 20 for a total of 7,157,932. Quebec has injected 966,566 doses of vaccine so far. The province has received 1,050,355 doses to date.
  • The Outaouais reported 37 new cases of infection for a total of 6,917, along with a total of 171 deaths, up one. Some 6,425 cases have been resolved. There are 285 active cases. There have been 27,856 people in the region vaccinated with at least one dose.
  • Montreal researchers say preliminary results from a study of 32 health workers who received the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine show the vaccine likely offers at least some protection against the variant first identified in the United Kingdom.
  • Newfoundland and Labrador reported no new cases today.
  • New Brunswick Public Health reports eight new cases.
  • Three new cases were reported by health officials in Nova Scotia.
  • Manitoba health officials announced 66 new cases and one death.
  • Saskatchewan added 205 new confirmed cases, half in the Regina area where variants make up most of the new cases. 
  • Alberta is not entering Step 3 of reopening on Monday as COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations grow, the health minister said. The province announced 456 new cases and five more deaths.
  • British Columbia health officials announced on Monday there have been 1,785 new test-positive COVID-19 cases since Friday, along with 16 deaths. Dr. Bonnie Henry said the province is in a third wave of infection, spurred on by rising variant cases.
  • So far Canada has seen 936,196+ confirmed cases. There have been 22,694+ deaths from the infection and 878,017+ recoveries. There are 35,009+ active cases.
  • There have now been 123,287,417+ confirmed cases worldwide with 2,716,696+ deaths and 69,874,318+ recoveries.
  • AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine provided strong protection against sickness and eliminated hospitalizations and deaths from the disease across all age groups in a late-stage study in the United States, the company announced Monday. AstraZeneca said its experts did not identify any safety concerns related to the vaccine, including finding no increased risk of blood clots that have beem identified in Europe.
  • A new study suggests that increased levels of vitamin D may lower risk of infection from COVID-19 particularly in Black patients. University of Chicago Medicine researchers, who published their findings in the medical journal JAMA Open Network, studied 3,000 patients who had their vitamin D levels tested within two weeks before a COVID-19 test.

March 21

  • Ottawa Public Health reported 86 confirmed cases of COVID-19. The city has now seen 16,107 cases since the first wave of infections began. The death toll is 454, up three. Nineteen are in hospital; five in intensive care. There are 736 active cases and there have been 14,917 recoveries. Ottawa Public Health is reporting COVID-19 outbreaks at 24 Ottawa institutions, including long-term care homes, retirement homes and hospitals and 11 in schools and child-care centres. There are four other outbreaks. There have been 87,737 doses of vaccine administered. The city has received 97,170.
  • Ontario has reported it has now seen 328,874 total cases of COVID-19, adding 1,791 cases today. The death toll rose by 18 to 7,241. There are 760 people in hospital, down five, with 305 in intensive care, up three, and 186 on a ventilator, down three. Today the province says there are 495 new cases in Toronto, 350 in Peel 177 in York Region and 106 in Durham. There has been a total of 307,403 resolved cases, up 1,353.
  • The province has now identified 1,287 cases of the UK variant, 47 cases of the South African variant and 36 cases of the Brazilian variant. Ontario’s science advisory table says variants make up more than 50 per cent of all new cases in the province.
  • Ontario has administered 1,521,705 doses of vaccine; 298,549 people have been fully vaccinated with two doses of vaccine.
  • The province completed 49,233 tests the previous day. There have been 12,082,748 tests conducted so far. There are 19,486 tests under review.
  • There are 52 long-term care homes reporting an outbreak. There are 11 residents with an infection and 101 staff. So far in the pandemic, 3,891 residents have died because of COVID-19 infection.
  • Ontario is allowing outdoor dining on patios in grey zones and increasing the numbers allowed indoors for dining in red and orange zones starting Monday.
  • Quebec has now recorded 302,339 cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. The province reported 648 new cases today. So far 284,940 have recovered. The death toll is 10,599, up five. The number in hospital is 501, down four, with 102 in intensive care, up three. The province completed 27,491 tests on March 19 for a total of 7,137,716. Quebec has injected 944,793 doses of vaccine so far. The province has received 1,050,355 doses to date.
  • The Outaouais reported 53 new cases of infection for a total of 6,880, along with a total of 170 deaths. Some 6,425 cases have been resolved. There are 285 active cases. There have been 27,312 people in the region vaccinated with at least one dose.
  • So far Canada has seen 932,955+ confirmed cases. There have been 22,666+ deaths from the infection and 874,943+ recoveries. There are 34,283+ active cases.
  • Canada is seeing more cases from COVID-19 variants, Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer Theresa Tam said in a statement on Sunday. “As of March 18, a total of 4,499 variants of concern have been reported across Canada, including 4,169 B.1.1.7 variants, 241 B.1.351 variants and 89 P.1 variants,” said the Public Health Agency of Canada on Sunday. COVID-19 variants of concern are taking a particularly strong hold in Western Canada, with Regina seeing nearly all of its new cases from variants.
  • There have now been 123,131,873+ confirmed cases worldwide with 2,714,574+ deaths and 69,755,704+ recoveries.

March 20

  • Ottawa Public Health reported 107 confirmed cases of COVID-19. The city has now seen 16,021 cases since the first wave of infections began. The death toll is 451. Twenty-three are in hospital; five in intensive care. There are 729 active cases and there have been 14,841 recoveries. Ottawa Public Health is reporting COVID-19 outbreaks at 25 Ottawa institutions, including long-term care homes, retirement homes and hospitals and eight in schools and child-care centres. There are two other outbreaks. There have been 87,737 doses of vaccine administered. The city has received 97,170.
  • Ontario has reported it has now seen 327,083 total cases of COVID-19, adding 1,829 cases today. The death toll rose by 11 to 7,223. There are 765 people in hospital, up six, with 302 in intensive care, down seven, and 189 on a ventilator, up 13. Today the province says there are 593 new cases in Toronto, 287 in Peel 157 in York Region and 124 in Hamilton. There has been a total of 306,050 resolved cases, up 1,261.
  • The province has now identified 1,230 cases of the UK variant, 47 cases of the South African variant and 35 cases of the Brazilian variant. Ontario’s science advisory table says variants make up more than 50 per cent of all new cases in the province.
  • Ontario has administered 1,480,882 doses of vaccine; 297,134 people have been fully vaccinated with two doses of vaccine.
  • The province completed 52,083 tests the previous day. There have been 12,033,515 tests conducted so far. There are 28,020 tests under review.
  • There are 52 long-term care homes reporting an outbreak. There are 11 residents with an infection and 101 staff. So far in the pandemic, 3,889 residents have died because of COVID-19 infection.
  • Ontario is allowing outdoor dining on patios in grey zones and increasing the numbers allowed indoors for dining in red and orange zones.
  • Quebec has now recorded 301,691 cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. The province reported 775 new cases today. So far 284,203 have recovered. The death toll is 10,594, up seven. The number in hospital is 505, up one, with 99 in intensive care. The province completed 32,964 tests on March 18 for a total of 7,110,225. Quebec has injected 915,653 doses of vaccine so far. The province has received 1,050,355 doses to date.
  • The Outaouais reported 48 new cases of infection for a total of 6,827, along with a total of 170 deaths. Some 6,359 cases have been resolved. There are 250 active cases. There have been 26,024 people in the region vaccinated with at least one dose.
  • So far Canada has seen 929,673+ confirmed cases. There have been 22,635+ deaths from the infection and 872,314+ recoveries. There are 33,399+ active cases.
  • There have now been 122,448,672+ confirmed cases worldwide with 2,703,656+ deaths and 69,365,939+ recoveries.
  • Denmark said on Saturday that one person had died and another fell seriously ill with blood clots and cerebral haemorrhage after receiving the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccination. Some countries including Germany and France this week reversed their decision to suspend use of the vaccine following an investigation into the reports of blood clots by the European Union’s drug watchdog, which said on Thursday it is still convinced the benefits of the vaccine outweigh the risks. Denmark – along with Sweden and Norway – said Friday they needed more time to decide whether to use the vaccine.
  • Meanwhile European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen threatened Saturday to halt exports of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccines if the bloc did not receive its promised deliveries first.

March 19

  • Ontario has reported it has now seen 325,254 total cases of COVID-19, adding 1,745 cases today. The death toll rose by 10 to 7,212. There are 759 people in hospital, up 29, with 309 in intensive care, up nine, and 176 on a ventilator, down 10. Today there are 478 new cases in Toronto, 344 in Peel, 174 in York Region and 116 in Hamilton. There has been a total of 304,789 resolved cases, up 1,296.
  • The province has now identified 1,175 cases of the UK variant, 48 cases of the South African variant and 35 cases of the Brazilian variant. Ontario’s science advisory table says variants make up more than 50 per cent of all new cases in the province. There have been nearly 4,500 variant cases of COVID-19 in Canada, with 90 per cent of those related to the variant first detected in the U.K.
  • Dr. Theresa Tam says the country is in a “crucial moment” in the battle between vaccines and variants. “If we don’t slow down the spread of the variants, Team Vaccine is at risk of falling behind,” Tam said in a press conference Friday.
  • Ontario has administered 1,420,599 doses of vaccine; 294,749 people have been fully vaccinated with two doses of vaccine.
  • The province completed 56,134 tests the previous day. There have been 11,981,432 tests conducted so far. There are 29,545 tests under review.
  • There are 52 long-term care homes reporting an outbreak. There are 11 residents with an infection and 98 staff. So far in the pandemic, 3,888 residents have died because of COVID-19 infection.
  • Ontario will expand vaccination appointments to people aged 75 and up starting Monday. And more than 700 pharmacies across the province will begin offering those 60 years and over a shot of the AstraZeneca vaccine on the same day.
  • Ontario Health Minister Christine Elliott says that COVID variants are having a more severe impact on younger people in the 40 to 75 age group. Hospitals are reporting an increase in such cases as variants drive a third wave of infection. CBC has more.
  • Ontario has announced $106.5 million in funding for post-secondary institutions who have been the most financially impacted by COVID-19. The province says the funding will help to offset pandemic related costs, including those associated with online learning, personal protective equipment and enhanced cleaning. Locally Algonquin College received $8.4 million. Neither Carleton nor uOttawa received funding in this announcement.
  • Ottawa Public Health reported 74 confirmed cases of COVID-19. The city has now seen 15,914 cases since the first wave of infections began. The death toll is 451, up one. Twenty-three are in hospital; four in intensive care. There are 668 active cases and there have been 14,795 recoveries. Ottawa Public Health is reporting COVID-19 outbreaks at 23 Ottawa institutions, including long-term care homes, retirement homes and hospitals and nine in schools and child-care centres. There are two other outbreaks. There have been 87,737 doses of vaccine administered. The city has received 97,170.
  • Ottawa is now in the red zone because of rising COVID-19 cases. This brings with it stricter restrictions on such things as restaurants, gyms and gatherings.
  • Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit was also moved into the red zone today because of rising case counts. Seven other public health units in the province are moving into more restricted zones.
  • Several hospitals in the Ottawa area are at or over 100 per cent capacity because many people who don’t have the virus are delaying treatment and showing up sicker. CBC has more.
  • An COVID-19 outbreak at the Ottawa Hospital Civic Campus has claimed seven lives, making it the deadliest outbreak in an Ottawa hospital during the pandemic. The outbreak began on Feb. 18. So far, 27 patients and 15 staff members have tested positive for COVID-19. Seven patients have died during the outbreak.
  • Quebec has now recorded 300,916 cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. The province reported 764 new cases today. So far 283,478 have recovered. The death toll is 10,587, up 11. The number in hospital is 504, down 15, with 99 in intensive care, down two. The province completed 32,704 tests on March 17 for a total of 7,077,261. Quebec has injected 872,459 doses of vaccine so far. The province has received 1,050,355 doses.
  • The Outaouais reported 53 new cases of infection for a total of 6,779, along with a total of 170 deaths, up two. Some 6,323 cases have been resolved. There are 235 active cases. There have been 23,878 people in the region vaccinated with at least one dose.
  • In Quebec, seniors 65 and up across the province can now book a vaccination appointment.
  • Health Minister Christian Dubé said at a news conference Friday the province hopes to sign up 20 to 50 companies that will volunteer staff and facilities in order to vaccinate a total of 500,000 people over a number of weeks starting in May. Marc Parent, the CEO of technology company CAE, said his company was ready to help and to take on the costs involved.
  • Newfoundland and Labrador reported no new cases today.
  • New Brunswick Public Health reports two new cases.
  • Three new cases were reported by health officials in Nova Scotia.
  • Manitoba health officials announced 93 new cases and one death.
  • Saskatchewan added three deaths and 174 new confirmed cases on Friday. 
  • Alberta reported 696 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday and identified another 130 cases of coronavirus variants. No new deaths were added to the grim toll of the pandemic.
  • British Columbia reported 737 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, along with two deaths.
  • So far Canada has seen 922,946+ confirmed cases. There have been 22,591+ deaths from the infection and 870,978+ recoveries. There are 29,280+ active cases.
  • Retail sales fell for the second consecutive month, down 1.1 per cent to $52.5 billion in January. Sales declined in 6 of 11 subsectors, representing 39.4 per cent of retail sales, Statistics Canada says.
  • There have now been 121,902,852+ confirmed cases worldwide with 2,693,289+ deaths and 69,052,542+ recoveries.

March 18

  • Ontario has reported it has now seen 323,509 total cases of COVID-19, adding 1,553 cases today. The death toll rose by 15 to 7,202. There are 730 people in hospital, down 11, with 304 in intensive care, up four, and 186 on a ventilator, down four. Today there are 404 new cases in Toronto, 294 in Peel and 176 in York Region. There has been a total of 303,493 resolved cases, up 1,236.
  • The province has now identified 1,136 cases of the UK variant, 47 cases of the South African variant and 35 cases of the Brazilian variant. Ontario’s science advisory table says variants make up more than 50 per cent of all new cases in the province.
  • Ontario has administered 1,359,453 doses of vaccine; 292,269 people have been fully vaccinated with two doses of vaccine.
  • The province completed 58,560 tests the previous day. There have been 11,925,298 tests conducted so far. There are 32,330 tests under review.
  • There are 59 long-term care homes reporting an outbreak. There are 24 residents with an infection and 108 staff. So far in the pandemic, 3,888 residents have died because of COVID-19 infection.
  • Ottawa Public Health reported 83 confirmed cases of COVID-19. The city has now seen 15,840 cases since the first wave of infections began. The death toll is 450. Twenty-one are in hospital; six in intensive care. There are 627 active cases and there have been 14,763 recoveries. Ottawa Public Health is reporting COVID-19 outbreaks at 24 Ottawa institutions, including long-term care homes, retirement homes and hospitals and 10 in schools and child-care centres. There are three other outbreaks. There have been 82,896 doses of vaccine administered. The city has received 97,170.
  • The City of Ottawa will enter the provincial red zone at midnight. This will further limit gatherings indoors and outdoors. The move is because cases are rising in the city and more virus is appearing in the wastewater tests conducted by Ottawa Public Health.
  • On the bright side pharmacies in Ottawa are reporting a significant drop in sales of medications for colds and flu since the start of the pandemic. Data collected by physicians as part of the Canada-wide Sentinel Practitioner Surveillance Network shows only 60 positive cases of influenza this season, compared to an average of 32,000 positives. CBC has more.
  • Organizers say that because Ottawa will move into the red zone the Long Road Back concert scheduled for March 27 will be postponed until it is deemed safe to proceed. All ticket purchasers will receive a refund automatically. Organizers say they hope festivals and other events can proceed this summer or fall.
  • Quebec has now recorded 300,152 cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. The province reported 702 new cases today. So far 282,693 have recovered. The death toll is 10,576, up six. The number in hospital is 519, down 13, with 101 in intensive care, down six. The province completed 33,906 tests on March 16 for a total of 7,044,557. Quebec has injected 832,469 doses of vaccine so far. The province has received 1,050,355 doses.
  • The Outaouais reported 34 new cases of infection for a total of 6,726, along with a total of 168 deaths, up one. Some 6,307 cases have been resolved. There are 218 active cases. There have been 21,740 people in the region vaccinated with at least one dose.
  • While mass vaccination began almost a week ago in the Outaouais, the percentage of people vaccinated in the region remains below the provincial average, Radio Canada reports. The rate of vaccination, which is likely to accelerate in the coming weeks, is pushing the regional health authorities to appeal to everyone to lend a hand.
  • All parents of schoolchildren in the Montreal neighbourhoods of Cote-St-Luc and what health officials called Plamondon will get COVID-19 vaccines immediately in a controversial new pilot project. The move is meant as an attack on COVID-19 variants, which have been soaring in those areas.
  • Quebecers who have disabilities and who live at care homes will soon be vaccinated for COVID-19 at their place of residence.
  • Premiers in Atlantic Canada have reached agreement to return to the Atlantic travel bubble. The bubble opens April 19.
  • Newfoundland and Labrador reported one new case today.
  • As if COVID-19 wasn’t enough, New Brunswick Public Health is investigating a possible cluster of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, after more than 40 people have come down with symptoms similar to the rare and fatal brain disease.
  • Three new cases and one death were reported by health officials in Nova Scotia.
  • Manitoba health officials announced 91 new cases and one death.
  • Saskatchewan has announced people will get paid time off from work to get their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccination. The province reported 115 new cases, 65 in Regina where medical officials say 80 per cent of new cases are variants. There was one more death.
  • Alberta reported 505 new cases, of which 91 are variant infection. One new death was reported.
  • More than 300,000 front-line workers in British Columbia, including first responders and grocery store workers, will be eligible for COVID-19 vaccinations beginning in April. This announcement comes as B.C. runs ahead of schedule with its COVID-19 Immunization Plan. The province reported 622 new cases and eight deaths today.
  • So far Canada has seen 922,205+ confirmed cases. There have been 22,579+ deaths from the infection and 866,321+ recoveries. There are 31,600+ active cases.
  • Starting next week, Canada will receive some eight million doses of vaccine by April 4. So far the provinces have received 4.77 million doses of Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca vaccines.
  • Maj. Gen. Dany Fortin, the military commander handling logistics for Canada’s vaccine distribution program says there will be enough vaccine delivered to give a first dose before Canada Day to every adult who wants one. This is dependent on provinces following the advice to delay second doses up to four months. It is also dependent on having no production delays again. Health Canada anticipates a total of 36.5 million doses from Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and the AstraZeneca vaccine from the Serum Institute of India by June 30. There are approximately 31 million Canadians over 16, and no vaccines are approved for anyone younger than 16.
  • There have now been 121,372,046+ confirmed cases worldwide with 2,683,059+ deaths and 68,797,030+ recoveries.
  • The Canada-U.S. border will remain closed until April 21.
  • France is to announce new coronavirus restrictions on Thursday, including a potential lockdown in the Paris region and in the north of the country, as the number of COVID-19 patients in intensive care units spikes.
  • The European Union’s drug regulator said on Thursday that the AstraZeneca vaccine was safe and effective, a finding officials hope will alleviate concerns about possible rare side effects involving blood clots and allow more than a dozen countries that halted its use to add it back into their arsenal against the resurgent coronavirus.
  • The United States plans to send four million doses of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine that it is not using to Mexico and Canada in loan deals with the two countries, an administration official told Reuters on Thursday. Mexico will receive 2.5 million does of the vaccine and Canada will receive 1.5 million doses, the official said. The U.S. has not approved the vaccine for use on its citizens. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki confirmed that agreement. “I can confirm that we have seven million releasable doses available of AstraZeneca,” Psaki said during a regular news conference, adding, “2.5 million of those we are working to finalise plans to lend those to Mexico and 1.5 million to Canada.”

March 17

  • Ontario has reported it has now seen 321,956 total cases of COVID-19, adding 1,508 cases today. The death toll rose by 14 to 7,187. There are 741 people in hospital, down 20, with 300 in intensive care, up eight, and 190 on a ventilator, down four. Today there are 542 new cases in Toronto, 253 in Peel and 107 in York Region. There has been a total of 302,257 resolved cases, up 1,488.
  • The province has now identified 1,134 cases of the UK variant, 47 cases of the South African variant and 34 cases of the Brazilian variant. Ontario’s science advisory table says variants make up more than 40 per cent of all new cases in the province. In Canada, there have been 3,168 cases of variant infection, so far.
  • Ontario has administered 1,301,334 doses of vaccine; 290,659 people have been fully vaccinated with two doses of vaccine.
  • The province completed 49,128 tests the previous day. There have been 11,866,738 tests conducted so far. There are 35,201 tests under review.
  • There are 72 long-term care homes reporting an outbreak. There are 30 residents with an infection and 123 staff. So far in the pandemic, 3,887 residents have died because of COVID-19 infection.
  • The Kingston, Ont., medical officer of health has extended an order aimed at curbing parties until the end of April — the last day of exams at Queen’s University — after a surge in COVID-19 cases in the city and at the school.
  • The Leeds, Grenville & Lanark District Health Unit recorded 29 more cases Wednesday, 16 in the previous 24 hours. The health unit has placed new restrictions on businesses and gatherings in the towns of Smiths Falls and Perth.
  • Ottawa Public Health reported 61 confirmed cases of COVID-19. The city has now seen 15,757 cases since the first wave of infections began. The death toll is 450, up one. Eighteen are in hospital; five in intensive care. There are 605 active cases and there have been 14,702 recoveries. Ottawa Public Health is reporting COVID-19 outbreaks at 24 Ottawa institutions, including long-term care homes, retirement homes and hospitals and 10 in schools and child-care centres. There are three other outbreaks. There have been 79,659 doses of vaccine administered. The city has received 86,640.
  • Quebec has now recorded 299,450 cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. The province reported 703 new cases today. So far 282,047 have recovered. The death toll is 10,570, up 12. The number in hospital is 532, down one, with 107 in intensive care, up 16. The province completed 33,728 tests on March 15 for a total of 7,010,651. Quebec has injected 804,806 doses of vaccine so far. The province has received 1,050,355 doses.
  • The Outaouais reported 22 new cases of infection for a total of 6,692, along with a total of 167 deaths. Some 6,286 cases have been resolved. There are 217 active cases. There have been 20,540 people in the region vaccinated with at least one dose.
  • Newfoundland and Labrador reported no new cases today.
  • New Brunswick reported one new case.
  • Two new cases were reported by health officials in Nova Scotia.
  • Manitoba health officials announced 96 new cases.
  • Saskatchewan reports 87 new cases and one more death.
  • The Alberta government is allowing people to decide whether they get the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine or wait instead for the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines if they have efficacy or ethical concerns. Alberta reported 479 new cases of COVID-19, 50 involving variants of the virus, and four more deaths on Wednesday. Alberta’s chief medical officer of health, Dr. Deena Hinshaw reported 535 of 4,918 active cases of the disease in the province are linked to the B117 strain first identified in the U.K.
  • British Columbia recorded four deaths on Wednesday along with 498 new cases.
  • So far Canada has seen 919,239+ confirmed cases. There have been 22,554+ deaths from the infection and 865,085+ recoveries. There are 31,517+ active cases.
  • There have now been 120,861,983+ confirmed cases worldwide with 2,674,151+ deaths and 68,538,986+ recoveries.

March 16

  • Canada’s National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) has changed its guidelines on the AstraZeneca-Oxford COVID-19 vaccine and recommends it be given to those over age 65.
  • Ontario Premier Doug Ford said that while new recommendations are “good news,” it also “messes everything up” logistically. The province received 194,500 doses of the vaccine last week and began administering it at select pharmacies and doctor offices across Ontario to people between the ages of 60 and 64, as was recommended by NACI. Ford reiterated that anyone already registered for the AstraZeneca vaccine will not lose their spot.
  • Ford said he remains committed to vaccinating everyone in the 60 to 64 age group, but is concerned that the supply is running low. Some pharmacies in Ontario say they are running short of doses, less than a week after the pilot program in Toronto, Kingston and Windsor-Essex began. The premier could not confirm when the next shipment of doses will be.
  • Ford also confirmed that the province is in the midst of a third wave of pandemic infection. Ontario’s COVID-19 science advisory table had said this morning that variants of concern — especially B117, first identified in the United Kingdom — now account for more than half of all new cases provincewide.
  • Ontario has reported it has now seen 320,448 total cases of COVID-19, adding 1,074 cases today. The death toll rose by 11 to 7,173. There are 761 people in hospital, up 62, with 292 in intensive care, down six, and 194 on a ventilator, up seven. Today there are 313 new cases in Toronto, 199 in Peel and 101 in York Region. There has been a total of 300,769 resolved cases, up 1,085.
  • The province has now identified 1,131 cases of the UK variant, 46 cases of the South African variant and 34 cases of the Brazilian variant. Ontario’s science advisory table says variants make up more than 40 per cent of all new cases in the province. In Canada, there have been 3,168 cases of variant infection, so far.
  • Ontario has administered 1,243,132 doses of vaccine; 288,918 people have been fully vaccinated with two doses of vaccine.
  • The province completed 28,526 tests the previous day. There have been 11,817,610 tests conducted so far. There are 27,448 tests under review.
  • There are 80 long-term care homes reporting an outbreak. There are 43 residents with an infection and 138 staff. So far in the pandemic, 3,882 residents have died because of COVID-19 infection.
  • Ottawa Public Health reported 59 confirmed cases of COVID-19. The city has now seen 15,696 cases since the first wave of infections began. The death toll is 449. Twenty are in hospital; four in intensive care. There are 620 active cases and there have been 14,627 recoveries. Ottawa Public Health is reporting COVID-19 outbreaks at 22 Ottawa institutions, including long-term care homes, retirement homes and hospitals and 11 in schools and child-care centres. There are three other outbreaks. There have been 77,423 doses of vaccine administered. The city has received 86,640.
  • Dr. Vera Etches says she expects the city to move into the province’s COVID-19 red zone within the next week, meaning tighter restrictions on gatherings and local businesses. “We now expect that the provincial restrictions in the red zone … will apply within the next week,” the chief medical officer of health said.
  • On Monday, more than 10,000 nights of reservations for campsites in Gatineau Park were sold, the NCC says. Normally about 3,000 are picked up on the opening day of reservations.
  • Organizers have announced The Long Road Back, a concert featuring the Ottawa band The Commotions, on March 27. The event is a collaboration with the National Arts Centre and Ontario Festival Industry Taskforce (OFIT). An audience of 100 is planned for the Casino Lac-Leamy Plaza at Lansdowne Park. Concertgoers must take a rapid COVID-19 antigen test at participating Shoppers Drug Mart stores 48 hours before the event. They will be screened at the door for symptoms and must show proof of a negative COVID-19 test. If Ottawa moves into the red zone the concert will be delayed.
  • Quebec has now recorded 298,747 cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. The province reported 561 new cases today. So far 281,436 have recovered. The death toll is 10,558, up eight. The number in hospital is 533, down 20, with 91 in intensive care, down five. The province completed 18,784 tests on March 14 for a total of 6,976,923. Quebec has injected 774,600 doses of vaccine so far. The province has received 1,050,355 doses.
  • The Outaouais reported 23 new cases of infection for a total of 6,670, along with a total of 167 deaths. Some 6,276 cases have been resolved. There are 204 active cases. There have been 19,983 people in the region vaccinated with at least one dose.
  • Quebec Premier Francois Legault has announced that all adult Quebecers who want a COVID-19 vaccination will be able to get one by June 24, St. Jean-Baptiste day the the province’s Fete Nationale. And he said he believed everyone over the age of 65 who wanted a vaccine would have one by the end of April. 
  • The premier also announced some loosening of restrictions saying the 8 p.m. curfew in red zones will move to 9:30 p.m. starting Wednesday. As well some regions in the north will move into a yellow zone with an end to the curfew. Theatres and performance venues will be permitted to re-open as of March 26. Secondary three, four and five students in Quebec’s orange zones will be able to return to class every day as of March 22. Currently, students are only attending class on alternate days.
  • Quebec public health chief Horacio Arruda said it’s believed around 20 per cent of cases in Montreal are variants, while 33 per cent of cases in the Quebec City region are variants. He warned a third wave in Quebec remains possible.
  • Newfoundland and Labrador reported one new case, as did PEI. for the third straight day.
  • New Brunswick reported five new cases.
  • Two new cases were reported by health officials in Nova Scotia.
  • Manitoba health officials announced 111 new cases.
  • Saskatchewan reports 156 new cases and two more deaths.
  • Alberta identifies 355 new cases of COVID-19, including 62 variant cases, along with three more deaths.
  • British Columbia health officials announced 556 new test-positive COVID-19 cases on Tuesday. No new deaths from the infection were reported.
  • So far Canada has seen 914,803+ confirmed cases. There have been 22,506+ deaths from the infection and 860,690+ recoveries. There are 31,630+ active cases.
  • Canadian drug developer Medicago says it has started a late-stage study of its experimental COVID-19 vaccine combined with a booster from the pharmaceutical maker GlaxoSmithKline. The study will enroll 30,000 participants and initially focus on healthy adults, followed by adults over the age of 65 and those with co-morbidities.
  • The Canadian move comes as the European Medicines Agency says today that the benefits of the AstraZeneca vaccine continue to outweigh the risks. EMA Executive Director Emer Cooke said there was no indication that blood clot incidents, which he called “very rare,” had been caused by the vaccine, but that experts were assessing that possibility. The incidents has prompted many European nations to suspend use of the vaccine.
  • There have now been 120,320,804+ confirmed cases worldwide with 2,662,878+ deaths and 68,255,238+ recoveries.
  • Moderna Inc. has begun dosing patients in a mid-to-late stage study of its COVID-19 vaccine, mRNA-1273, in children aged six months to less than 12 years.

March 15

  • Ontario has reported it has now seen 319,374 total cases of COVID-19, adding 1,268 cases today. The death toll rose by nine to 7,162. There are 699 people in hospital, up 98, with 298 in intensive care, up 16, and 187 on a ventilator, up one. Today there are 366 new cases in Toronto, 220 in Peel and 147 in York Region. There has been a total of 299,684 resolved cases, up 1,114.
  • The province has now identified 1,106 cases of the UK variant, 44 cases of the South African variant and 34 cases of the Brazilian variant.
  • Ontario has administered 1,191,553 doses of vaccine; 287,283 people have been fully vaccinated with two doses of vaccine.
  • The province completed 33,975 tests the previous day. There have been 11,789,084 tests conducted so far. There are 10,954 tests under review.
  • There are 87 long-term care homes reporting an outbreak. There are 42 residents with an infection and 146 staff. So far in the pandemic, 3,881 residents have died because of COVID-19 infection.
  • Ontario’s vaccine booking system, which includes an online portal and phone line, is now live. The province says residents aged 80 and older can schedule their shots at ontario.ca/bookvaccine, or phone 1-888-999-6488. Ottawa Public is urging residents to use the provincial appoint system instead of the one set up by OPH. Thousands of people logged on to the new system within minutes on Monday morning, with many reporting long wait times and error messages.
  • The head of Ontario’s vaccine task force, retired general Rick Hillier, will leave his job when his order in council contract expires March 31, Premier Doug Ford said Monday. “I tried to get him to renew it, but as he said, ‘Doug, I did the job I came for, and we got everything set up,'” said Ford, who indicated he agreed with that sentiment.
  • Ottawa Public Health reported 75 confirmed cases of COVID-19. The city has now seen 15,637 cases since the first wave of infections began. The death toll rose by two to 449. Twenty-one are in hospital; five in intensive care. There are 626 active cases and there have been 14,562 recoveries. Ottawa Public Health is reporting COVID-19 outbreaks at 24 Ottawa institutions, including long-term care homes, retirement homes and hospitals and 11 in schools and child-care centres. There are three other outbreaks. There have been 77,423 doses of vaccine administered. The city has received 86,640.
  • There’s been an almost 30 per cent increase in the need for youth counselling and addiction services, as well as a similar increase in young people showing up at the emergency department, suffering from anxiety, depression, self-harm and other mental health issues, Joanne Lowe, vice-president of mental health and addictions at CHEO, the region’s children’s hospital, and the executive director of the Youth Services Bureau, tells CBC. There’s also been a 60 per cent increase in the number of youth reporting eating disorders, she added, compared to the same time last year.  
  • Quebec has now recorded 298,186 cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. The province reported 594 new cases today. So far 280,755 have recovered. The death toll is 10,550, up 10. The number in hospital is 553, down six, with 96 in intensive care. The province completed 28,466 tests on March 13 for a total of 6,958,139. Quebec has injected 715,581 doses of vaccine so far. The province has received 948,565 doses.
  • The Outaouais reported 19 new cases of infection for a total of 6,647, along with a total of 167 deaths. Some 6,261 cases have been resolved. There are 200 active cases. There have been 19,875 people in the region vaccinated with at least one dose.
  • Quebec is opening up vaccinations to those 65 and up in Montreal pharmacies.
  • Newfoundland and Labrador reported no new cases for the third straight day.
  • New Brunswick reported one new case.
  • No new cases were reported by health officials in Nova Scotia.
  • Manitoba health officials announced 50 new cases.
  • Saskatchewan is extending hours at its AstraZeneca drive-thru immunization site because of a high volume of people looking to get vaccinated.
  • Alberta is expanding its vaccine delivery to include people 65 and up. The province confirmed 364 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday, along with three more deaths. 
  • British Columbia is launching a vaccination blitz in Prince Rupert to inoculate the entire adult population in the northern community of 12,000. Prince Rupert has seen high rates of infection. British Columbia health officials announced on Monday there have been 1,506 new test-positive COVID-19 cases since Friday, along with 10 more deaths.
  • So far Canada has seen 911,621+ confirmed cases. There have been 22,486+ deaths from the infection and 855,020+ recoveries. There are 31,674+ active cases.
  • The Canadian Real Estate Association says it expects nearly 702,000 properties to trade hands through Canadian MLS systems this year compared with 551,262 in 2020. Home sales are forecast to be around 614,000 units in 2022. The national average home price is forecast to rise by 16.5 per cent on an annual basis to just over $665,000 in 2021 and $679,341 in 2022. Home sales in February were up 6.6 per cent compared with January and up 39.2 per cent compared with a year ago. The actual national average home price in February was a record $678,091, up 25 per cent from a year earlier.
  • There have now been 119,956,955+ confirmed cases worldwide with 2,655,280+ deaths and 67,997,544+ recoveries.
  • The World Health Organization said its advisory panel was reviewing reports related to the AstraZeneca vaccine and would release its findings as soon as possible. But it said it was unlikely to change its recommendations, issued last month, for widespread use, including in countries where the South African variant of the virus may reduce its efficacy. “As of today, there is no evidence that the incidents are caused by the vaccine and it is important that vaccination campaigns continue so that we can save lives and stem severe disease from the virus,” WHO spokesman Christian Lindmeier said.
  • Germany on Monday joined a growing number of countries choosing to suspend the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine over safety fears. Ireland and the Netherlands suspended use on Sunday. In Asia, Thailand announced Monday it would go ahead with the shot. Indonesia, meanwhile, chose to pause. Canada, France, the United Kingdom say they have no concerns and that vaccinations will continue.

March 14

  • Ontario has reported it has now seen 318,106 total cases of COVID-19, adding 1,747 cases today. The death toll rose by 17 to 7,153. There are 601 people in hospital, down 88, with 282 in intensive care, up seven, and 186 on a ventilator, up 11. Today there are 545 new cases in Toronto, 352 in Peel and 163 in York Region. There has been a total of 298,570 resolved cases, up 1,167.
  • The province has now identified 1,036 cases of the UK variant, 44 cases of the South African variant and 34 cases of the Brazilian variant.
  • Ontario has administered 1,158,355 doses of vaccine; 285,615 people have been fully vaccinated with two doses of vaccine.
  • The province completed 47,618 tests the previous day. There have been 11,755,109 tests conducted so far. There are 18,494 tests under review.
  • There are 84 long-term care homes reporting an outbreak. There are 45 residents with an infection and 139 staff. So far in the pandemic, 3,878 residents have died because of COVID-19 infection.
  • Ontario’s vaccine booking system, which includes an online portal and phone line, is set to go live on Monday morning. The province says residents aged 80 and older will be able to schedule their shots starting at 8 a.m. at ontario.ca/bookvaccine, or phone 1-888-999-6488.
  • Ottawa Public Health reported 68 confirmed cases of COVID-19. The city has now seen 15,562 cases since the first wave of infections began. The death toll remains at 447. Thirty-six are in hospital; three in intensive care. There are 611 active cases and there have been 14,504 recoveries. Ottawa Public Health is reporting COVID-19 outbreaks at 24 Ottawa institutions, including long-term care homes, retirement homes and hospitals and 11 in schools and child-care centres. There are three other outbreaks. There have been 73,009 doses of vaccine administered. The city has received 80,540.
  • Ottawa parents of public school students have until midnight tonight to decide they want their children back in class this fall or learning online.
  • Quebec has now recorded 297,592 cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. The province reported 674 new cases today. So far 280,030 have recovered. The death toll is 10,540, up five. The number in hospital is 547, down four, with 100 in intensive care, down six. The province completed 26,203 tests on March 12 for a total of 6,929,673 Quebec has injected 715,581 doses of vaccine so far. The province has received 948,565 doses.
  • The Outaouais reported 39 new cases of infection for a total of 6,628, along with a total of 167 deaths. Some 6,235 cases have been resolved. There are 187 active cases. There have been 18,422 people in the region vaccinated with at least one dose.
  • Newfoundland and Labrador reported no new cases today.
  • New Brunswick reported five new cases.
  • Health officials in Nova Scotia confirmed one case today.
  • Manitoba health officials announced 44 new cases, along with one more death.
  • Saskatchewan reports 98 new confirmed cases and two more deaths.
  • Alberta reported 388 new cases and six more deaths.
  • So far Canada has seen 909,157+ confirmed cases. There have been 22,463+ deaths from the infection and 853,710+ recoveries. There are 31,224+ active cases.
  • The federal government says it’s accepting more hotels to accommodate returning travellers as they await results of a mandatory COVID-19 test taken after they land at major airports in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto and Montreal. There are now 47 hotels serving as government-authorized accommodations with more to come.
  • There have now been 119,641,210+ confirmed cases worldwide with 2,650,122+ deaths and 67,755,438+ recoveries.
  • Italy is entering another lockdown amid a surge of coronavirus cases. Half of Italy’s 20 regions, including the cities of Rome, Milan and Venice, will be under new COVID-19 restrictions beginning Monday and continuing through April 6.
  • France is planning to move 100 patients in intensive care in Paris as the number of people with COVID-19 in intensive care units (ICU) in France is exceeding 4,000 for the first time since Nov. 26, at the end of the second nationwide lockdown.

March 13

  • Ontario has reported it has now seen 316,359 total cases of COVID-19, adding 1,468 cases today. The death toll rose by 11 to 7,138. There are 689 people in hospital, up 13, with 275 in intensive care, down seven, and 175 on a ventilator, down 14. Today there are 371 new cases in Toronto, 225 in Peel, 111 in York Region and 109 in Hamilton. There has been a total of 297,403 resolved cases, up 1,151.
  • The province has now identified 1,024 cases of the UK variant, 43 cases of the South African variant and 34 cases of the Brazilian variant.
  • Ontario has administered 1,116,496 doses of vaccine; 284,686 people have been fully vaccinated with two doses of vaccine.
  • The province completed 58,431 tests the previous day. There have been 11,707,491 tests conducted so far. There are 29,756 tests under review.
  • There are 84 long-term care homes reporting an outbreak. There are 45 residents with an infection and 139 staff. So far in the pandemic, 3,878 residents have died because of COVID-19 infection.
  • Ottawa Public Health reported 94 new confirmed cases of COVID-19. The city has now seen 15,494 cases since the first wave of infections began. The death toll rose by one to 447. Thirty-four are in hospital; three in intensive care. There are 595 active cases and there have been 14,452 recoveries. Ottawa Public Health is reporting COVID-19 outbreaks at 23 Ottawa institutions, including long-term care homes, retirement homes and hospitals and 11 in schools and child-care centres. There are two other outbreaks. There have been 73,009 doses of vaccine administered. The city has received 80,540.
  • Ottawa bylaw officers have charged the Tosca Restaurant and Connor’s Irish Pub and Eatery in Orléans with being open after 10 p.m. Officers allegedly found at total of more than 50 people inside the establishments. In the blitz, eight establishment in all were fined for violating Ottawa’s Temporary Mandatory Mask Bylaw and provincial pandemic orders.
  • Quebec has now recorded 296,918 cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. The province reported 789 new cases today. So far 279,230 have recovered. The death toll is 10,535, up 11. The number in hospital is 551, up one, with 106 in intensive care. The province completed 26,975 tests on March 11 for a total of 6,903,470 Quebec has injected 681,487 doses of vaccine so far. The province has received 948,565 doses.
  • The Outaouais reported 48 new cases of infection for a total of 6,589, along with a total of 167 deaths. Some 6,235 cases have been resolved. There are 187 active cases. There have been 16,694 people in the region vaccinated with at least one dose.
  • Police broke up a party at a property rented in Cantley, Que., overnight for violating public health protocols. The seven people, all from Ontario, were each fined $1,550 and told to leave either by car or taxi, with exception of the tenant.
  • So far Canada has seen 905,390+ confirmed cases. There have been 22,425+ deaths from the infection and 851,199+ recoveries. There are 30,781+ active cases.
  • There have now been 119,335,338+ confirmed cases worldwide with 2,644,090+ deaths and 67,561,626+ recoveries.

March 12

  • Ontario has reported it has now seen 314,891 total cases of COVID-19, adding 1,371 cases today. The death toll rose by 18 to 7,127. There are 676 people in hospital, down four, with 282 in intensive care, up five, and 189 on a ventilator, up five. Today there are 371 new cases in Toronto, 225 in Peel, 111 in York Region and 109 in Hamilton. There has been a total of 296,252 resolved cases, up 1,124.
  • The province has now identified 1,005 cases of the UK variant, 42 cases of the South African variant and 34 cases of the Brazilian variant.
  • Ontario has administered 1,062,910 doses of vaccine; 282,748 people have been fully vaccinated with two doses of vaccine.
  • The province completed 64,611 tests the previous day. There have been 11,649,060 tests conducted so far. There are 36,744 tests under review.
  • There are 80 long-term care homes reporting an outbreak. There are 45 residents with an infection and 138 staff. So far in the pandemic, 3,877 residents have died because of COVID-19 infection.
  • The Ontario government has announced $2.5 million to help musicians struggling during the pandemic and to chart a path for how the industry can be supported after COVID-19.
  • Ontario Premier Doug Ford has apologized after accusing a First Nations MPP who got a vaccine in his home riding of “jumping the line,” even though he was invited to get the shot to combat vaccine hesitancy. Ford phoned MPP Sol Mamakwa Friday afternoon to apologize to him directly for the accusation, which was made on Thursday.
  • Ottawa Public Health reported 62 new confirmed cases of COVID-19. The city has now seen 15,400 cases since the first wave of infections began. The death toll remains 446. Thirty-one are in hospital; three in intensive care. There are 570 active cases and there have been 14,384 recoveries. Ottawa Public Health is reporting COVID-19 outbreaks at 21 Ottawa institutions, including long-term care homes, retirement homes and hospitals and eight in schools and child-care centres. There are two other outbreaks. There have been 73,009 doses of vaccine administered. The city has received 80,540.
  • The Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit will move to the yellow zone on the province’s pandemic scale on Monday, one of three regions to switch zones. The region, currently designated as green, has seen a recent rise in cases, with nearly 100 since the start of March. Lambton Public Health, located west of London, Ont., will move into the grey lockdown zone, while the Northwestern Health Unit, which borders Manitoba, will move into the red zone.
  • Quebec has now recorded 296,143 cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. The province reported 753 new cases today. So far 278,489 have recovered. The death toll is 10,526 with eight more deaths reported. The number in hospital is 550, down 13, with 106 in intensive care, down five. The province completed 31,434 tests on March 10 for a total of 6,876,595 Quebec has injected 648,663 doses of vaccine so far. The province has received 852,065 doses.
  • The Outaouais reported 22 new cases of infection for a total of 6,541, along with a total of 167 deaths. Some 6,182 cases have been resolved. There are 170 active cases.
  • The Quebec government will allow gyms and indoor training facilities to reopen across the province — and relax rules for outdoor sports activities in orange zones, as of March 26.
  • Meanwhile the Quebec Council of Hasidic Jews have gone to court to challenge the province’s COVID-19 curfew.
  • Newfoundland and Labrador reported one new case today.
  • New Brunswick reporting three new cases and one more death.
  • Health officials in Nova Scotia confirmed one case today.
  • Health officials in Prince Edward Island are easing COVID-19 restrictions across the province.
  • Manitoba health officials announced 104 new cases, along with one more death.
  • Saskatchewan is reporting 176 new cases today and three new deaths.
  • Alberta is reporting 425 new cases and two more deaths.
  • British Columbia health officials reported 648 new cases — the highest daily number in more than two months, and no new deaths.
  • So far Canada has seen 893,239+ confirmed cases. There have been 22,404+ deaths from the infection and 847,938+ recoveries. There are 30,672+ active cases.
  • Employment increased by 259,000 (up 1.4 per cent) in February, after falling by 266,000 over the previous two months, Statistics Canada says. Both part-time (171,000 up 5.4 per cent) and full-time (88,000; up 0.6 per cent) work increased. The unemployment rate fell 1.2 percentage points to 8.2 per cent in February, the lowest rate since March 2020.
  • Federal Health Minister Patty Hajdu says Canada is part of international conversations about the rollout of so-called “vaccine passports.” She says it is important for Canada to be at the table as nations decide whether those entering their countries will require a COVID-19 vaccine, despite concerns about the idea. Inside Canada, such proof of a vaccine is a provincial matter, she says.
  • The prime minister suggests vaccine passports could unfairly impact some people if used to decide who can go to a concert or dine at a restaurant.
  • Justin Trudeau says at least one million doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine will arrive weekly beginning March 22 and until May 10.
  • There have now been 118,689,552+ confirmed cases worldwide with 2,631,949+ deaths and 67,213,579+ recoveries.

March 11

  • Ontario has reported it has now seen 313,520 total cases of COVID-19, adding 1,092 cases today. The death toll rose by 10 to 7,109. There are 680 people in hospital, up two, with 277 in intensive care, down four, and 184 on a ventilator, up six. Today there are 428 new cases in Toronto, 244 in Peel and 149 in York Region. There has been a total of 295,128 resolved cases, up 1,110.
  • The province has now identified 956 cases of the UK variant, 41 cases of the South African variant and 28 cases of the Brazilian variant.
  • Ontario has administered 1,019,407 doses of vaccine; 281,714 people have been fully vaccinated with two doses of vaccine.
  • The province completed 60,619 tests the previous day. There have been 11,584,449 tests conducted so far. There are 42,033 tests under review.
  • There are 83 long-term care homes reporting an outbreak. There are 51 residents with an infection and 137 staff. So far in the pandemic, 3,877 residents have died because of COVID-19 infection.
  • Ontario Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy announced Thursday morning that he will deliver the province’s 2021 budget on March 24. He promised no cuts to public services or tax hikes. Ontario delivered its last spending package in November. It had record spending of $187 billion, and a record deficit of $38.5 billion.
  • New modelling in Ontario is pointing to a rapid rise in cases with cases hitting from 1,650, to 5,800 to 8,000 a day by the beginning of April. The modelling is showing that variants are increasing rapidly across the province as test positivity and cases start rising again. Rising cases will renew pressure on the health care system, the modellers say. They add that masking, social distancing and hand washing will help combat the rise of the variants. In effect, there are two pandemics happening in the province with the initial virus seemingly under control while the variants spread.
  • The province has put the Sudbury region into the grey zone lockdown because of a spike in infections.
  • Ottawa Public Health reported 79 new confirmed cases of COVID-19. The city has now seen 15,338 cases since the first wave of infections began. The death toll is 446. Twenty-eight are in hospital; three in intensive care. There are 540 active cases and there have been 14,352 recoveries. Ottawa Public Health is reporting COVID-19 outbreaks at 20 Ottawa institutions, including long-term care homes, retirement homes and hospitals and eight in schools and child-care centres. There are three other outbreaks. There have been 69,187 doses of vaccine administered. The city has received 80,540.
  • A vaccinated resident at an Ottawa long-term care facility wants to know why he and everyone else living at the home have to remain in their rooms after staff members tested positive for COVID-19. CBC has more.
  • Quebec has now recorded 295,390 cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. The province reported 738 new cases today. So far 277,738 have recovered. The death toll is 10,518 with 15 more deaths reported. The number in hospital is 563, down 18, with 111 in intensive care, down one. The province completed 31,347 tests on March 9 for a total of 6,845,161. Quebec has injected 619,060 doses of vaccine so far. The province has received 852,065 doses.
  • The Outaouais reported 20 new cases of infection for a total of 6,519, along with a total of 167 deaths, up three. Some 6,182 cases have been resolved. There are 170 active cases.
  • Newfoundland and Labrador reported one new case today.
  • New Brunswick reporting two new cases. The number of active cases in the province remains at 34.
  • Health officials in Nova Scotia did not confirm a case today.
  • Manitoba health officials announced 91 new cases, along with three more deaths.
  • Saskatchewan is reporting 165 new cases today and no new deaths.
  • Alberta has reported 364 cases of COVID-19 reported Thursday along with five deaths
  • British Columbia health officials announced 569 new test-positive COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, along with three more deaths.
  • So far Canada has seen 899,463+ confirmed cases. There have been 22,371+ deaths from the infection and 845,072+ recoveries. There are 30,442+ active cases.
  • Canadian health authorities are keeping a watchful eye on European investigations of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine after reports of blood clots following inoculations, but say there is no evidence they were caused by the vaccine. At least nine European countries hit pause on their use of AstraZeneca’s doses – some entirely, and others only on specific batches – pending further investigation of blood clots, though none suggested there is a link between the clots and getting the vaccine. Canada’s first 500,000 doses of AstraZeneca are being put to use just this week, and officials in several provinces said Thursday they don’t intend to stop the rollout.
  • On March 11, 2020, the City of Ottawa’s first confirmed COVID-19 case was announced. It began a crisis that has upended the lives of of people in the region.
  • The prime minister told the House of Commons that March 11, 2020 will always be marked by a before and an after. “For families and close ones, each death has a before and an after,” Trudeau said. “Since the great wars of the 20th century, there is a sentence we often evoke, and it’s a sentence that we can bring back for those that we lost this year during the pandemic: We will remember them.”
  • Opposition Leader Erin O’Toole said “Like many Canadians we are frustrated by the slower pace of vaccines than elsewhere, but we want the government to succeed for the health and well-being of Canadians so that we can get our lives back to normal.”
  • Justin Trudeau designated today as a day of remembrance for those who has died from the infection and for those who have been adversely affected by it. This was the day that the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic.
  • The Canada Recovery Benefit (CRB) — which pays unemployed Canadians $2,000 a month — was initially estimated by Finance officials to cost $6.3 billion by the end of March. But it has now almost doubled to $11.1 billion as of Feb. 28, according to data posted by the government.
  • There have now been 118,134,623+ confirmed cases worldwide with 2,622,190+ deaths and 66,941,986+ recoveries.
  • U.S. President Joe Biden has signed into law a $1.9 trillion U.S. package of relief measures designed to help Americans navigate the economic and health impacts caused by the pandemic. The United States has seen 29,197,519+ confirmed cases and 530,179+ deaths so far.

March 10

  • Ontario has reported it has now seen 312,428 total cases of COVID-19, adding 1,316 cases today. The death toll rose by 16 to 7,099. There are 678 people in hospital, down 11, with 281 in intensive care, down nine, and 178 on a ventilator, down six. Today there are 428 new cases in Toronto, 244 in Peel and 149 in York Region. There has been a total of 294,018 resolved cases, up 1,212.
  • The province has now identified 921 cases of the UK variant, 39 cases of the South African variant and 17 cases of the Brazilian variant.
  • Ontario has administered 978,797 doses of vaccine; 279,204 people have been fully vaccinated with two doses of vaccine.
  • The province completed 54,149 tests the previous day. There have been 11,523,830 tests conducted so far. There are 38,518 tests under review.
  • There are 84 long-term care homes reporting an outbreak. There are 55 residents with an infection and 134 staff. So far in the pandemic, 3,876 residents have died because of COVID-19 infection.
  • Toronto’s Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre is in the process of setting up a mobile field hospital in its parking lot as it prepares to deal with a possible third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Earlier this year, the Trudeau government promised to set up two of the specialized mobile field hospitals in the GTA in order to add 200 beds to the hospital system. This is one of those.
  • Shoppers Drug Mart, Rexall, Loblaws and Costco are among the pharmacy chains participating in the rollout of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine in three regions of Ontario this week, Premier Doug Ford announced Wednesday. More than 300 pharmacies in Toronto, Windsor-Essex, and Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox & Addington, will begin booking appointments this week for people ages 60 to 64.
  • Ottawa Public Health reported 52 new confirmed cases of COVID-19. The city has now seen 15,259 cases since the first wave of infections began. The death toll is 446, up two. Twenty-five are in hospital; four in intensive care. There are 530 active cases and there have been 14,283 recoveries. Ottawa Public Health is reporting COVID-19 outbreaks at 20 Ottawa institutions, including long-term care homes, retirement homes and hospitals and eight in schools and child-care centres. There are three other outbreaks.
  • The City of Ottawa is asking residents to only call the booking line for COVID-19 vaccines if they are eligible to receive a shot. The city opened up vaccination appointments to residents 90 or older anywhere in Ottawa on Wednesday. By 9:30 a.m., the city said its phone lines were jammed.
  • Quebec has now recorded 294,652 cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. The province reported 792 new cases today. So far 277,185 have recovered. The death toll is 10,503 with 10 more deaths reported. The number in hospital is 581, up six, with 112 in intensive care, up two. The province completed 30,772 tests on March 8 for a total of 6,814,804. Quebec has injected 599,833 doses of vaccine so far. The province has received 852,065 doses.
  • The Outaouais reported eight new cases of infection for a total of 6,499, along with a total of 164 deaths. Some 6,133 cases have been resolved. There are 194 active cases.
  • A team of health workers and infectious disease specialists has been deployed as reinforcements to help stem an outbreak CHSLD Lionel-Émond in Gatineau where at least 43 residents and 18 staff members have been infected. Five people have died. The “SWAT” team is made up of experts from Sainte-Justine University Hospital in Montreal. They’re examining the protocols in place and are helping Gatineau’s health authority get the situation under control, while providing support to the home’s workers.
  • All Quebecers who are at least 70 years old can now book an appointment for their COVID-19 shot.
  • The Legault government will have had to spend close to $21 billion over the next four years just to counter the effects of the pandemic on Quebec’s economy and its health care system, the provincial auditor general says in her 2020-2021 annual report.
  • Newfoundland and Labrador will loosen some public health restrictions after almost a month in lockdown, the province’s chief medical officer of health said Wednesday. The province reported no new cases today.
  • New Brunswick Public Health is reporting no new cases on Wednesday. The number of active cases in the province drops to 34.
  • Health officials in Nova Scotia announced one new case on Wednesday.
  • Manitoba health officials announced 77 new cases on Wednesday, along with one more death.
  • A proposed class-action lawsuit has been filed against Extendicare in relation to the several deaths caused by COVID-19 in Saskatchewan. There were 111 new infections and one more death reported by the province.
  • Alberta reported 399 new cases of COVID-19 Wednesday and two more deaths. Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta’s chief medical officer of health, said variants now make up about nine per cent of active cases of COVID-19 in the province, a rise from three per cent in late January.
  • British Columbia health officials announced 531 new test-positive COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, along with one more death.
  • So far today Canada has seen 896,739+ confirmed cases. There have been 22,335+ deaths from the infection and 842,247+ recoveries. There are 30,179+ active cases.
  • Maj.-Gen. Dany Fortin says vaccine supplies have stabilized and the “ramp up” phase of Canada’s inoculation campaign is in full swing, with some 36.4 million shots now expected to arrive before the end of June.
  • There were more than 13,000 “excess deaths” in Canada last year, new data published by Statistics Canada on Wednesday shows. Between January and mid-December 2020, an estimated 296,373 people lost their lives across the country, five per cent more (13,798) deaths than expected in that period had there been no pandemic, and seven per cent more than in 2019. So far there have been 22,330 deaths from COVID-19 in Canada.
  • The latest approval ratings for Canada’s premiers from the Angus Reid Institute has Ontario Premier Doug Ford in the middle of the pack with a 50 per cent rating, well behind B.C. Premier John Horgan who leads with 66 per cent approval. Ford’s approval has dropped 19 per cent since May 2020. Alberta’s Jason Kenney and Manitoba’s Brian Pallister trail the group. Nova Scotia’s new leader Ian Rankin is last in most part because he is an unknown quantity having just taken office.
  • Globally, there have now been 117,660,021+ confirmed cases with 2,612,360+ deaths and 66,692,308+ recoveries.

March 9

  • Ontario has reported it has now seen 311,112 total cases of COVID-19, adding 1,185 cases today. The death toll rose by six to 7,083. There are 689 people in hospital, up 63, with 290 in intensive care, up eight, and 184 on a ventilator. Today there are 343 new cases in Toronto, 235 in Peel and 105 in York Region. There has been a total of 292,806 resolved cases, up 972.
  • The province has now identified 908 cases of the UK variant, 39 cases of the South African variant and 17 cases of the Brazilian variant.
  • Ontario has administered 943,533 doses of vaccine; 276,193 people have been fully vaccinated with two doses of vaccine.
  • The province completed 33,264 tests the previous day. There have been 11,469,681 tests conducted so far. There are 29,845 tests under review.
  • There are 85 long-term care homes reporting an outbreak. There are 56 residents with an infection and 136 staff. So far in the pandemic, 3,876 residents have died because of COVID-19 infection.
  • A commission examining the impact of COVID-19 on Ontario’s long-term care system has heard the government rejected proposals that could have helped protect vulnerable residents during the second wave because they were deemed too expensive. Dr. Allison McGeer, an infectious disease specialist and member of the province’s science advisory group, told the Long-Term Care COVID-19 Commission the proposals included mechanisms for hospitals to support the long-term care sector, and to ensure seniors wouldn’t be housed three or four to a room during the second wave.
  • The Ontario government has said that it will priorize nearly three million people with pre-existing conditions as part of the next phase of its vaccine rollout but it has released few details on how it will identify those people and verify their medical history. The government has provided a list of 24 health conditions that would qualify residents for vaccines ahead of the general public and has broken them up into three categories – highest risk, high risk and at-risk.
  • Health Minister Christine Elliott said that the province plans to unveil a list of more than 300 pharmacies that will administer the AstraZeneca vaccine by tomorrow. She said that qualifying members of the public would then be able to book appointments to receive their shots at those pharmacies by the end of the week. “The 190,000 vaccines that we are expecting to receive today are time limited and we want to make sure they can be delivered quickly and efficiently through the over 300 pharmacies that have been identified,” she said. “This plan is ready to go and we will be receiving applications and online bookings as of Friday.” The doses Ontario will receive were shipped from the Serum Institute of India earlier this month and will expire on April 2.
  • Ottawa Public Health reported 40 new confirmed cases of COVID-19. The city has now seen 15,207 cases since the first wave of infections began. The death toll is 444, up one. Twenty-seven are in hospital; two in intensive care. There are 512 active cases and there have been 14,251 recoveries. Ottawa Public Health is reporting COVID-19 outbreaks at 21 Ottawa institutions, including long-term care homes, retirement homes and hospitals and seven in schools and child-care centres. There are four other outbreaks.
  • Members of Ottawa’s COVID-19 contact and case management team have faced resistance and abuse from members of the public, the city’s board of health chair says.
  • Dr. Vera Etches is reiterating a warning of a “sharp rise of COVID in our wastewater.” Whenever the wastewater indicators rise, the number of people testing positive follows suit, she said. She also noted that hospitalizations are back up, and so is the percentage of people testing positive. The city is seeing new outbreaks daily. Ottawa is in the orange zone of the province’s colour-coded pandemic response framework. But the weekly rate of COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people is at 37 — not far from the red-zone threshold of 40. More transmission is being observed at private gatherings and among sports teams, including those for middle-aged and older adults.
  • Quebec has now recorded 293,860 cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. The province reported 650 new cases today. So far 276,602 have recovered. The death toll is 10,492 with 12 more deaths reported. The number in hospital is 576, down 14, with 110 in intensive care, up two. The province completed 18,668 tests on March 7 for a total of 6,784,032. Quebec has injected 581,028 doses of vaccine so far. The province has received 739,065 doses.
  • The Outaouais reported 15 new cases of infection for a total of 6,491, along with a total of 164 deaths, up one. Some 6,091 cases have been resolved. There are 222 active cases.
  • Speaking at a press conference in Quebec City this afternoon, Quebec Premier Francois Legault sid he is saddened by the number of people who have died of COVID-19. The premier noted that Ontario has had fewer deaths per capita than Quebec, but pointed to some U.S. states, including Massachusetts, have fared worse than Quebec. “We could have done better,” Legault acknowledged, saying the province could have beefed up resources in long-term care homes, known as CHSLDs in Quebec. He said governments, including his own, failed to deal with a severe labour shortage in CHSLDs.
  • Quebec Health Minister Christian Dube says he expects that the vaccination age limit to be lower in Montreal by the end of the week – perhaps to people aged 65 and older.
  • The public health unit for the Outaouais says residents 75 and older can begin booking COVID-19 vaccination appointments. The Centre intégré de santé et de services sociaux (CISSS) de l’Outaouais said in a news release Tuesday that residents can visit the Quebec government’s vaccination website or call 1-877-644-4545 for support.
  • Quebec will offer the AstraZeneca vaccine to those over age 65. This goes against advice provided by the National Advisory Committee on Immunization which said there wasn’t enough evidence on efficacy in seniors. Quebec says real world evidence confirms that efficacy.
  • Newfoundland and Labrador is reporting one new case.
  • New Brunswick is reporting one new case and one more death today.
  • Nova Scotia reports five new cases. The province has found five new variant cases; three of the type first found in the U.K. and two of the one found in South Africa.
  • Manitoba has 66 new cases and one more death.
  • Saskatchewan is relaxing the rules for household bubbles increasing the number of individuals to 10. This happened on the same day it announced that 35 more known cases of COVID-19 in the province have been confirmed to be variants of concern. The province saw one COVID-19-related death on Tuesday, along with 113 new COVID-19 cases.
  • Alberta has added 255 new cases and six more deaths.
  • British Columbia health officials reported 550 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, along with two additional deaths.
  • So far today Canada has seen 892,784+ confirmed cases. There have been 22,293+ deaths from the infection and 839,062+ recoveries. There are 30,322+ active cases.
  • The Prime Minister says Canada has been warned of manufacturing problems plaguing the one shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Canada pre-ordered 10 million doses of the vaccine, which is the first and only one in Canada’s vaccine plan that requires only one dose. But Trudeau says Canada still doesn’t have a date for when it should receive the first deliveries.
  • A report by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives shows many women, especially non-white women have been severely impacted by the pandemic. Prime Minister Trudeau has promised to ensure that economic recovery will help women, so that the pandemic does not undo years of progress.
  • Globally, there have now been 117,270,765+ confirmed cases with 2,604,373+ deaths and 66,453,363+ recoveries.
  • The U.S. Centres for Disease Control has released guidelines for those who have been fully vaccinated including the ability to gather with others who have been fully vaccinated without masks or social distancing. Health Canada has not yet released guidance. So far in the pandemic the United States has seen 29,046,117+ cases and 525,921+ deaths.

March 8

  • Ontario has reported it has now seen 309,927 total cases of COVID-19, adding 1,631 cases today. The death toll rose by 10 to 7,077. There are 626 people in hospital, up 20, with 282 in intensive care, up nine, and 184 on a ventilator, up five. Today there are 568 new cases in Toronto, 322 in Peel and 119 in York Region. The province says Ottawa has 57 new cases. There has been a total of 291,834 resolved cases, up 994.
  • The province has now identified 879 cases of the UK variant, 39 cases of the South African variant and 17 cases of the Brazilian variant.
  • Ontario has administered 912,486 doses of vaccine; 273,676 people have been fully vaccinated with two doses of vaccine.
  • The province completed 38,063 tests the previous day. There have been 11,436,417 tests conducted so far. There are 13,891 tests under review.
  • There are 84 long-term care homes reporting an outbreak. There are 55 residents with an infection and 139 staff. So far in the pandemic, 3,876 residents have died because of COVID-19 infection.
  • The Ontario COVID-19 Science Advisory Table says in a new report that eight weeks after vaccinations began in December, infections were reduced by 89 per cent among long-term care residents and by 79 per cent among workers. Deaths from COVID-19 among long-term care residents were reduced by 96 per cent over the same period. “These data highlight the importance of accelerating vaccine rollout to priority populations who are at disproportionately high risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection, COVID-19 hospitalization and death,” the report said.
  • Toronto and Peel Region move into the grey zone today meaning some retail businesses can open with restrictions as cases spike in the province.
  • Ottawa Public Health reported 57 new confirmed cases of COVID-19. The city has now seen 15,167 cases since the first wave of infections began. The death toll is 443, up one. Twenty-nine are in hospital; three in intensive care. There are 513 active cases and there have been 14,211 recoveries. Ottawa Public Health is reporting COVID-19 outbreaks at 21 Ottawa institutions, including long-term care homes, retirement homes and hospitals and seven in schools and child-care centres. There are four other outbreaks.
  • Anyone in Ottawa born in or before 1931 can call 613-691-5505 for a vaccine appointment starting Wednesday, no matter where they live in the city. Their clinic will start at the Nepean Sportsplex on Friday.
  • The city has also expanded the number of high-risk neighbourhoods where adults born in 1941 or earlier or are getting home care for a chronic health condition can get vaccinated. People in this category who have not gotten their first vaccine already can still register by calling 613-691-5505 to get an appointment. The newly added neighbourhoods are: Bayshore-Belltown, Carson Grove-Carson Meadows, Greenboro East, Hawthorne Meadows, Hunt Club East – Western Community, Hunt Club Park, Lowertown, Manor Park, Overbrook-McArthur, Parkwood Hills, Sheffield Glen, Stewart Farm, Vanier North and Vanier South. These neighbourhoods join Ledbury, Herongate, Heatherington, Emerald Woods, Sawmill Creek, Ridgemont and Riverview.
  • Vaccines will start being given to people in the new districts on Friday by appointment only. The phone lines are open seven days a week, with services in multiple languages, and people can leave a message to have someone call them back.
  • On Wednesday, tens of thousands of Ottawa health-care workers in various sectors will be able to pre-register for an appointment. Those workers include midwives, dentists, primary care workers, community-based specialists, walk-in clinic staff, among others.
  • Quebec has now recorded 293,210 cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. The province reported 579 new cases today. So far 275,796 have recovered. The death toll is 10,481 with nine more deaths reported. The number in hospital is 590, down two, with 108 in intensive care, up one. The province completed 17,734 tests on March 6 for a total of 6,765,364. Quebec has injected 564,302 doses of vaccine so far. The province has received 638,445 doses.
  • The Outaouais reported seven new cases of infection for a total of 6,478, along with a total of 163 deaths. Some 6,078 cases have been resolved. There are 228 active cases.
  • Most of the province is moving into the orange zone today except for five regions in the Greater Montreal area. The Outaouais was already in orange.
  • Newfoundland and Labrador is reporting three new cases. There are 84 actives cases in the province.
  • New Brunswick is reporting five new cases of COVID-19 today, while Nova Scotia reports no new cases.
  • Manitoba has 63 new cases and one more death.
  • Saskatchewan has reported 97 new cases and one more death.
  • Retail stores and malls will be allowed increase their capacity to 25 per cent of fire-code, and youth sports teams and activities will be allowed to resume with up to 10 participants, Alberta‘s health minister announced Monday. The province reported 278 new cases and six more deaths.
  • British Columbia health officials announced on Monday there have been 1,462 new test-positive COVID-19 cases since Friday, along with 11 more deaths.
  • So far today Canada has seen 890,692+ confirmed cases. There have been 22,276+ deaths from the infection and 835,862+ recoveries. There are 30,268+ active cases.
  • Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says March 11 will be a “national day of observance” for the COVID-19 pandemic. The day is meant to commemorate the 22,000 people in Canada who have died from the disease and to acknowledge all the other ways lives have changed over the past year.
  • The latest public opinion survey from the Angus Reid Institute shows increases in the number of people across the country eager to roll up their sleeves and be vaccinated as soon as they are eligible. Those in Quebec are most optimistic about being vaccinated sooner than later – while those in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba express expectations for a longer wait. The number of Canadians worried about personally falling ill from COVID-19 has plummeted nearly 10 points over the last two months, from 71 per cent in early January to 62 per cent in early March.
  • The federal government says 910,000 doses of Pfizer and Moderna vaccines will arrive this week.
  • A “misery index” published by the Ottawa-based Macdonald-Laurier Institute on Monday suggests that overall well-being in Canada has suffered more than average, ranking 11th out of 15 countries on a scale of miserableness. The index compiled 16 broad measures — mortality rates, visits to intensive-care units, the pace of vaccinations, lockdown stringency, GDP changes and unemployment, among other things — and rated Canada’s performance on a scale from zero to 100 in each category.
  • Globally, there have now been 116,924,908+ confirmed cases with 2,594,945+ deaths and 66,204,279+ recoveries.

March 7

  • Ontario has reported it has now seen 308,296 total cases of COVID-19, adding 1,299 cases today. The death toll rose by 15 to 7,067. There are 606 people in hospital, down 14, with 273 in intensive care, down five, and 179 on a ventilator, down two. Today there are 329 new cases in Toronto, 192 in Peel and 116 in York Region. There has been a total of 290,840 resolved cases, up 1,105.
  • The province has now identified 828 cases of the UK variant, 31 cases of the South African variant and 13 cases of the Brazilian variant.
  • Ontario has administered 890,604 doses of vaccine; 271,807 people have been fully vaccinated with two doses of vaccine.
  • The province completed 46,586 tests the previous day. There have been 11,398,354 tests conducted so far. There are 20,057 tests under review.
  • There are 84 long-term care homes reporting an outbreak. There are 55 residents with an infection and 139 staff. So far in the pandemic, 3,876 residents have died because of COVID-19 infection.
  • Ottawa Public Health reported 56 new confirmed cases of COVID-19. The city has now seen 15,110 cases since the first wave of infections began. The death toll is 442. Thirty people are in hospital; five in intensive care. There are 502 active cases and there have been 14,166 recoveries. Ottawa Public Health is reporting COVID-19 outbreaks at 20 Ottawa institutions, including long-term care homes, retirement homes and hospitals and six in schools and child-care centres. There are four other outbreaks.
  • Quebec has now recorded 292,631 cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. The province reported 707 new cases today. So far 275,059 have recovered. The death toll is 10,472 with seven more deaths reported. The number in hospital is 592, down nine, with 107 in intensive care, down two. The province completed 24,413 tests on March 5 for a total of 6,737,630. Quebec has injected 548,136 doses of vaccine so far. The province has received 638,445 doses.
  • The Outaouais reported 24 new cases of infection for a total of 6,469, along with a total of 163 deaths. Some 6,078 cases have been resolved. There are 228 active cases.
  • So far today Canada has seen 886,574+ confirmed cases. There have been 22,239+ deaths from the infection and 834,067+ recoveries. There are 30,268+ active cases.
  • Globally, there have now been 116,817,145+ confirmed cases with 2,592,768+ deaths and 66,107,690+ recoveries.

March 6

  • Ontario has reported it has now seen 306,997 total cases of COVID-19, adding 990 cases today. The death toll rose by six to 7,052. There are 620 people in hospital, down 23, with 278 in intensive care, down two, and 181 on a ventilator, down two. Today there are 284 new cases in Toronto, 173 in Peel and 82 in York Region. There has been a total of 289,735 resolved cases, up 1,152.
  • The province has now identified 826 cases of the UK variant, 31 cases of the South African variant and eight cases of the Brazilian variant.
  • Ontario has administered 860,412 doses of vaccine; 270,625 people have been fully vaccinated with two doses of vaccine.
  • The province completed 57,829 tests the previous day. There have been 11,351,768 tests conducted so far. There are 27,796 tests under review.
  • There are 83 long-term care homes reporting an outbreak. There are 55 residents with an infection and 141 staff. So far in the pandemic, 3,875 residents have died because of COVID-19 infection.
  • Ottawa Public Health reported 55 new confirmed cases of COVID-19. The city has now seen 15,054 cases since the first wave of infections began. The death toll is 442. Thirty people are in hospital; five in intensive care. There are 487 active cases and there have been 14,125 recoveries. Ottawa Public Health is reporting COVID-19 outbreaks at 22 Ottawa institutions, including long-term care homes, retirement homes and hospitals and seven in schools and child-care centres. There are five other outbreaks.
  • Quebec has now recorded 291,924 cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. The province reported 749 new cases today. So far 274,245 have recovered. The death toll is 10,465 with 10 more deaths reported. The number in hospital is 601, down 16, with 109 in intensive care, down two. The province completed 26,109 tests on March 4 for a total of 6,713,217. Quebec has injected 532,012 doses of vaccine so far. The province has received 638,445 doses.
  • The Outaouais reported 20 new cases of infection for a total of 6,445, along with a total of 163 deaths. Some 6,059 cases have been resolved. There are 223 active cases.
  • So far today Canada has seen 883,500+ confirmed cases. There have been 22,208+ deaths from the infection and 830,575+ recoveries. There are 30,146+ active cases.
  • Globally, there have now been 116,341,065+ confirmed cases with 2,583,908+ deaths and 65,752,287+ recoveries.

March 5

  • Health Canada has approved the use of Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen COVID-19 viral vector vaccine in Canada. The single-dose vaccine made by the American health care giant is the fourth vaccine to be approved in Canada. It can be easily stored in refrigerator. It is considered 66.9 per cent effective in preventing moderate to severe infection. Canada is expecting 10 million doses, with options to purchase up to 28 million more if necessary, with most of those shots set to arrive by the end of September. The announcement included information about a clinical trial for children 12 to 18 that will be conducted in Canada. This is the fourth vaccine to be approved for use in Canada. CBC breaks down the vaccines. Canada is expecting 10 million doses, with options to purchase up to 28 million more if necessary, with most of those shots set to arrive by the end of September.
  • The prime minister has announced that Pfizer will ship 1.5 million more doses in March bringing available doses this month to eight million. The company is also shipping an extra one million more doses in April and again in May, raising the total in the second quarter to 12.8 million doses. These doses were originally to arrive during the summer.
  • Ontario has reported it has now seen 306,007 total cases of COVID-19, adding 1,250 cases today. The death toll rose by 22 to 7,046. There are 643 people in hospital, down nine, with 280 in intensive care, down one, and 183 on a ventilator. Today there are 337 new cases in Toronto, 167 in Peel and 129 in York Region. There has been a total of 288,583 resolved cases, up 1,159.
  • The province has now identified 799 cases of the UK variant, 31 cases of the South African variant and three cases of the Brazilian variant.
  • Ontario has administered 820,714 doses of vaccine; 269,063 people have been fully vaccinated with two doses of vaccine.
  • The province completed 64,748 tests the previous day. There have been 11,293,939 tests conducted so far. There are 34,037 tests under review.
  • There are 86 long-term care homes reporting an outbreak. There are 60 residents with an infection and 154 staff. So far in the pandemic, 3,873 residents have died because of COVID-19 infection.
  • Ontario says the second phase of vaccination will see people over 60 vaccinated by the end of May. The province wants to have at least one dose of vaccine in the arm every adult Ontarian who wants one by June 21. Rick Hillier says the province expects 325,000 doses in the province next week.
  • Ontario is moving Toronto and Peel Region to the grey zone allowing retail stores to open with restrictions on Monday. North Bay-Parry Sound will move to the red zone on Monday.
  • The Ontario Pharmacists Association said a vaccination pilot will begin in Ontario with approximately 380 pharmacies in the Toronto, Kingston and Windsor-Essex health units, with the first shots of AstraZeneca vaccine to be delivered as early as Tuesday.
  • Ottawa Public Health reported 49 new confirmed cases of COVID-19. The city has now seen 14,999 cases since the first wave of infections began. The death toll is 442. Twenty-eight people are in hospital; five in intensive care. There are 502 active cases and there have been 13,991 recoveries. Ottawa Public Health is reporting COVID-19 outbreaks at 24 Ottawa institutions, including long-term care homes, retirement homes and hospitals and six in schools and child-care centres. There are four other outbreaks.
  • Ottawa’s medical officer of health said Friday it seems the city’s third wave is coming, and is asking people to maintain physical distancing to prevent a surge in COVID-19 cases. “It looks like [a third wave] is coming. It’s apparent in the wastewater and that’s been a pretty reliable predictor,” Dr. Vera Etches told CBC.
  • The Renfrew County public health unit will move from green to yellow on Monday.
  • The campaign vaccinate Ottawa’s Indigenous community is moving to a larger facility and expanding eligibility to adults 50 years and older. The St-Laurent Complex at 525 Côté St. can accommodate 300 people a day. The original vaccination site at the Wabano Centre for Aboriginal Health on Montreal Road was vaccinating up to 90 patients daily.
  • Quebec has now recorded 291,175 cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. The province reported 798 new cases today. So far 273,430 have recovered. The death toll is 10,455 with 10 more deaths reported. The number in hospital is 617, down nine, with 111 in intensive care, down four. The province completed 27,685 tests on March 2 for a total of 6,687,108. Quebec has injected 510,479 doses of vaccine so far. The province has received 638,445 doses.
  • The Outaouais reported 23 new cases of infection for a total of 6,425, along with a total of 163 deaths, up two. Some 6,023 cases have been resolved. There are 218 active cases.
  • Nova Scotia reported two new cases today.
  • New Brunswick is reporting four more cases today.
  • Newfoundland and Labrador reported one new case today.
  • Nunavut reported four new cases today, all in the hard-hit community of Arviat.
  • Manitoba reports 54 cases and one more death today.
  • Saskatchewan reported 207 new cases and two more deaths today.
  • Alberta reported 411 new cases and two more deaths.
  • So far today Canada has seen 879,074+ confirmed cases. There have been 22,156+ deaths from the infection and 828,386+ recoveries. There are 29,903+ active cases.
  • January saw a record high total value of building permits issued, Statistics Canada says, rising 8.2 per cent to $9.9 billion and surpassing the previous record of $9.6 billion set in April 2019. These gains were driven primarily by the residential sector. The value of permits issued in the residential sector increased 10.6 per cent to $7.1 billion in January — rising past the previous peak of $6.5 billion posted two months earlier. Provincial highs were reported in Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Manitoba. The majority of the rise in the residential sector was attributable to single-family homes, which climbed 15.1 per cent to a record $3.5 billion—the eighth increase in nine months. 
  • Canada posted a trade surplus of $1.4 billion in January, the first since May 2019, owing to a sharp 8.1 per cent increase in merchandise exports. Statistics Canada says this was also the largest surplus since July 2014. Imports rose 0.9 per cent in January compared with the previous month.
  • Globally, there have now been 115,740,910+ confirmed cases with 2,571,604+ deaths and 65,464,871+ recoveries.
  • France said Friday it may follow Italy in blocking vaccine shipments as concerns about vaccine nationalism rise. The comments by French Health Minister Olivier Véran came the day after Rome invoked European Union powers to block the export of 250,000 COVID-19 AstraZeneca vaccine doses to Australia, in a dramatic escalation of a dispute between the bloc and the drug giant. Justin Trudeau said the government is concerned and monitoring but he does not believe Canada’s shipments of Pfizer or Moderna vaccine doses from the EU will be affected.
  • Australia has asked the European Commission to review Italy’s decision.

March 4

  • Ontario has reported it has now seen 304,757 total cases of COVID-19, adding 994 cases today. The death toll rose by 10 to 7,024. There are 649 people in hospital, down 19, with 281 in intensive care, up seven, and 183 on a ventilator, down five. Today there are 298 new cases in Toronto, 171 in Peel and 64 in York Region. There has been a total of 287,424 resolved cases, up 1,072.
  • The province has now identified 644 cases of the UK variant, 31 cases of the South African variant and three cases of the Brazilian variant.
  • Ontario has administered 784,828 doses of vaccine; 268,118 people have been fully vaccinated with two doses of vaccine.
  • The province completed 65,643 tests the previous day. There have been 11,229,191 tests conducted so far. There are 42,723 tests under review.
  • There are 94 long-term care homes reporting an outbreak. There are 62 residents with an infection and 163 staff. So far in the pandemic, 3,871 residents have died because of COVID-19 infection.
  • Ontario will extend the interval between doses of COVID-19 vaccines to up to four months after a national panel recommended doing so, paving the way for an acceleration of the province’s immunization effort.
  • Ontario said it plans to administer the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine to residents aged 60 to 64. Solicitor General Sylvia Jones said the targeted use of the vaccine will help cut illness and death across Ontario.
  • Ottawa Public Health reported 80 new confirmed cases of COVID-19. The city has now seen 14,950 cases since the first wave of infections began. The death toll is 442, up one. Twenty-seven people are in hospital; four in intensive care. There are 517 active cases and there have been 13,991 recoveries. Ottawa Public Health is reporting COVID-19 outbreaks at 24 Ottawa institutions, including long-term care homes, retirement homes and hospitals and six in schools and child-care centres. There are four other outbreaks.
  • Officials have confirmed a second case of the B.1.351 (South Africa) variant in Ottawa, and the provincial database still indicates there are eight known cases of the B.1.1.7 (U.K.) variant. Dr. Vera Etches says Ottawa should expect to see a spike in variant numbers as dozens of recent positive results have shown similar characteristics to variants of concern when examined through genomic sequencing tests. Those have yet to be confirmed, according to the Ontario database. Officials have confirmed variants in other public health regions, with another 92 cases of B.1.1.7 (there are now 644 known cases in the province) and another four cases of B.1.351 (there are now 31). There remain three known cases of P.1 (Brazil), all within the Toronto region.
  • Clients and staff at Ottawa’s six homeless shelters will receive a dose of the COVID-19 vaccine starting today.
  • In total, 108 charges were laid against businesses and individuals by Ottawa bylaw officers for violations of the COVID-19 lockdown restrictions including one incident at a hookah bar on Carling Avenue where 18 people were each ticketed $880, while the unnamed business was given a court summons.
  • Quebec has now recorded 290,377 cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. The province reported 707 new cases today. So far 272,533 have recovered. The death toll is 10,445 with 19 more deaths reported. The number in hospital is 626, up eight, with 115 in intensive care, down five. The province completed 29,151 tests on March 1 for a total of 6,659,423. Quebec has injected 490,504 doses of vaccine so far. The province has received 638,445 doses.
  • The Outaouais reported 29 new cases of infection for a total of 6,402, along with a total of 161 deaths, up one. Some 6,023 cases have been resolved. There are 218 active cases.
  • Newfoundland and Labrador reported five new COVID-19 cases today.
  • Prince Edward Island reported one new case of infection today.
  • Health officials in New Brunswick are reporting five more cases. Also the province has confirmed a variant case.
  • Nova Scotia reported three new cases with 29 active cases remaining.
  • Manitoba announced two more deaths and 51 new COVID-19 cases.
  • Saskatchewan reported 169 new cases and two more deaths today as the province extended the time between doses of COVID vaccines to up to four months.
  • Alberta reported 331 new cases and nine more deaths. The province has expanded its vaccination program to include those 65 to 74 starting March 15. The province is extending the time between doses of vaccine to up to four months. Health Minister Tyler Shandro said all adult Albertans will have a chance to get at least one dose of vaccine by June 30.
  • There were 634 new cases of COVID-19 identified in British Columbia over the past 24 hours, along with four deaths.
  • So far today Canada has seen 877,226+ confirmed cases. There have been 22,141+ deaths from the infection and 823,524+ recoveries. There are 29,930+ active cases.
  • Air Canada is promising to refund passengers whose flights were cancelled during the COVID-19 pandemic. Unifor president Jerry Dias says the airline has made the commitment repeatedly during negotiations with the federal government over an aid package for the battered sector. The federal government has put reimbursement of travellers on the table as a key demand in exchange for financial relief for airlines, on top of asking carriers to maintain regional routes.
  • Health Canada will be ready to quickly authorize needed vaccine boosters to prevent infection by COVID-19 boosters when available, Dr. Supriya Sharma says.
  • Globally, there have now been 115,302,421+ confirmed cases with 2,561,992+ deaths and 65,224,214+ recoveries.
  • Germany has approved the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine for those 65 years and up.

March 3

  • The National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) is recommending provinces and territories extend the time between first and second COVID-19 vaccine doses to four months amid vaccine shortages. In new guidelines posted on the NACI website on Wednesday, the committee said “current evidence suggests high vaccine effectiveness against symptomatic disease and hospitalization for several weeks after the first dose, including among older populations.”
  • Ontario has reported it has now seen 303,763 total cases of COVID-19, adding 958 cases today. The death toll rose by 17 to 7,014. There are 668 people in hospital, down nine, with 274 in intensive care, down 10, and 188 on a ventilator, down one. Today there are 249 new cases in Toronto, 164 in Peel and 92 in York Region. There has been a total of 286,352 resolved cases, up 1,090.
  • The province has now identified 552 cases of the UK variant, 27 cases of the South African variant and three cases of the Brazilian variant.
  • Ontario has administered 754,419 doses of vaccine; 266,710 people have been fully vaccinated with two doses of vaccine.
  • The province completed 52,613 tests the previous day. There have been 11,163,548 tests conducted so far. There are 43,139 tests under review.
  • There are 98 long-term care homes reporting an outbreak. There are 65 residents with an infection and 163 staff. So far in the pandemic, 3,869 residents have died because of COVID-19 infection.
  • A CBC News data investigation has found one in 12 long-term care facilities in the province were caught breaking COVID-specific government directives between June 2020 and January 2021. Many infractions occurred during or after outbreaks.
  • The City of Toronto intends to enter the grey COVID zone next week as Canada’s largest city slowly leaves the lockdown, where the community has been for 100 days. The cautious transition has an eye on the expansion of variant infections which health officials say is growing exponentially in the city which has seen 126 confirmed cases of variant infection with more than 1,400 presumptive cases.
  • Earlier today the Canadian Federation of Independent Business urged the Ontario government to start to open up the economy in Toronto
  • Ottawa Public Health reported 46 new confirmed cases of COVID-19. The city has now seen 14,840 cases since the first wave of infections began. The death toll is 441, up one. Thirty people are in hospital; six in intensive care. There are 497 active cases and there have been 13,932 recoveries. Ottawa Public Health is reporting COVID-19 outbreaks at 22 Ottawa institutions, including long-term care homes, retirement homes and hospitals and six in schools and child-care centres. There are four other outbreaks.
  • As more COVID-19 doses arrive in Ottawa, the head of Ottawa’s vaccination task force is suggesting mass vaccinations of residents over the age of 80 will begin later this month. The city began vaccinating police officers on Wednesday, while the first vaccine clinics for people experiencing homelessness will begin on Thursday. On Friday, the city will hold the first pop-up vaccination clinics targeting residents over the age of 80 in seven high-risk neighbourhoods.
  • Last call on patios set up on City of Ottawa sidewalks and other property will be 2 a.m. this spring and summer. But the city needs to move into the green zone of Ontario’s COVID-19 framework before patios can stay open that late. Full city council will vote on the proposal next week.
  • A popular Carleton Place pub, the Thirsty Moose Pub and Eatery, has closed indefinitely as Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District health officials investigate a “significant” COVID-19 spread event that is so far suspected in more than 20 infections.
  • Quebec has now recorded 289,670 cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. The province reported 729 new cases today. So far 271,908 have recovered. The death toll is 10,426 with 19 more deaths reported. The number in hospital is 618, down 10, with 120 in intensive care, down one. The province completed 28,941 tests on March 1 for a total of 6,630,272. Quebec has injected 472,710 doses of vaccine so far. The province has received 638,445 doses.
  • The Outaouais reported 16 new cases of infection for a total of 6,373, along with a total of 161 deaths, up one. Some 5,985 cases have been resolved. There are 211 active cases.
  • Quebec Premier François Legault said that all of Quebec will move soon to orange-zone rules, Premier François Legault announced Wednesday, except for Montreal, Laval, the Laurentians, Lanaudiere and Monteregie. The Outaouais moved to orange late last month.
  • Newfoundland and Labrador reported three new COVID-19 cases today. The province is also delaying the second dose of COVID-19 vaccines by four months as is happening in British Columbia.
  • Prince Edward Island reported one new case of infection today as a 72-hour lockdown ended.
  • Health officials in New Brunswick are reporting three more cases.
  • Nova Scotia reported three new cases on Wednesday and said 30 active cases remain in the province.
  • Manitoba announced three more deaths and 51 new COVID-19 cases. Manitoba is also delaying second doses of vaccine up to four months to expand those who have gotten at least one shot.
  • Saskatchewan reported 121 new cases and two more deaths.
  • Alberta reported 12 more COVID-19 deaths on Wednesday and 402 new cases. The province has also confirmed 492 cases of infection by two COVID variants.
  • There were 542 new cases of COVID-19 identified in British Columbia over the past 24 hours, along with seven deaths.
  • So far today Canada has seen 873,886+ confirmed cases. There have been 22,067+ deaths from the infection and 821,545+ recoveries. There are 30,252+ active cases.
  • The federal government has extended its pandemic wage, rent subsidy and lockdown programs until June. They were to expire in March. The government has paid out more than $66 billion in wage subsidies and $1.6 billion in rent subsidies, according to official data.
  • Health Canada has authorized a submission from Pfizer-BioNTech to allow its COVID-19 vaccine to be stored and transported at standard freezer temperatures (between -25°C and -15°C) for up to two weeks instead of ultra-cold conditions. This will allow flexible transportation and local re-distribution of this vaccine.
  • The United States is “very open” to helping other countries procure COVID-19 vaccines and conversations about how to do so are continuing, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Wednesday. He added he was optimistic the vaccination program will speed up.
  • Globally, there have now been 114,882,991+ confirmed cases with 2,551,611+ deaths and 64,994,624+ recoveries.
  • Several American states, including Texas where daily cases still top 7,000, have removed masking mandates. U.S. President Joe Biden calls the decisions “neanderthal” thinking. The U.S. has seen 28,755,407+ cases and 518,265+deaths. Texas alone has seen 44,199+ deaths.

March 2

  • Ontario has reported it has now seen 302,805 total cases of COVID-19, adding 966 cases today. The death toll rose by 11 to 6,997. There are 677 people in hospital, up 18, with 284 in intensive care, up four, and 189 on a ventilator, up 14. Today there are 253 new cases in Toronto, 223 in Peel and 99 in York Region. There has been a total of 285,262 resolved cases, up 979.
  • The province has now identified 542 cases of the UK variant, 27 cases of the South African variant and three cases of the Brazilian variant.
  • Ontario has administered 727,021 doses of vaccine; 264,896 people have been fully vaccinated with two doses of vaccine.
  • The province completed 30,767 tests the previous day. There have been 11,110,935 tests conducted so far. There are 31,074 tests under review.
  • There are 97 long-term care homes reporting an outbreak. There are 71 residents with an infection and 162 staff. So far in the pandemic, 3,867 residents have died because of COVID-19 infection.
  • Ottawa area MPP and Ontario’s Long-Term Care Minister Merilee Fullerton told a panel reviewing the provincial response to the crisis in long term care caused by the pandemic that she was concerned about asymptomatic spread of COVID-19 in care homes as early as Feb. 5, 2020, something the province did not publicly acknowledge and act on for months. Fullerton said she had suspicions but didn’t want to overstep her expertise. Fullerton, a long time family physician before entering politics, also said she felt long term care was the “forgotten partner” in the early months of the pandemic.
  • Ottawa Public Health reported 54 new confirmed cases of COVID-19. The city has now seen 14,824 cases since the first wave of infections began. The death toll is 441, up one. Twenty-seven people are in hospital; six in intensive care. There are 501 active cases and there have been 13,882 recoveries. Ottawa Public Health is reporting COVID-19 outbreaks at 24 Ottawa institutions, including long-term care homes, retirement homes and hospitals and five in schools and child-care centres. There are five other outbreaks.
  • The head of the breast imaging section of The Ottawa Hospital (TOH) says the department has a backlog of about 20,000 patients who haven’t received routine screening during the pandemic — and, CBC reports, she is worried about seeing more advanced cancers in patients who skip appointments.
  • Ottawa police front-line officers are scheduled to begin receiving the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine on Wednesday.
  • Quebec has now recorded 288,941 cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. The province reported 588 new cases today. So far 271,156 have recovered. The death toll is 10,407 with eight more deaths reported. The number in hospital is 628, up 16, with 121 in intensive care, down one. The province completed 18,789 tests on Feb. 28 for a total of 6,601,331. Quebec has injected 455,328 doses of vaccine so far. The province has received 537,825 doses.
  • The Outaouais reported 16 new cases of infection for a total of 6,357, along with a total of 161 deaths, up one. Some 5,969 cases have been resolved. There are 212 active cases.
  • Quebec has reached agreement with pharmacies in the province to begin providing vaccinations against COVID-19. The Greater Montreal Area will be the first to see pharmacies deliver shots of the Moderna vaccine.
  • Whitehorse, Yukon is offering COVID-19 vaccine to all adults.
  • Prince Edward Island reported four new cases of infection. The province has 22 active cases.
  • Newfoundland and Labrador reported five new COVID-19 cases today.
  • One new case of COVID-19 was reported today in Nova Scotia, as the province said that pharmacies will begin to vaccinate people later this month.
  • Health officials in New Brunswick are reporting one new death today and four more cases.
  • Manitoba announced two more deaths and 64 new COVID-19 cases, as the province loosens some restrictions including allowing all businesses, with the exception of indoor theatres, concert halls, casinos and bingo halls, to reopen at reduced capacity. Manitobans will also be able to choose to designate one other household to form a pandemic bubble, or stick with their current two designated visitors. 
  • Saskatchewan reported 134 new cases and two more deaths.
  • So far today Canada has seen 871,808+ confirmed cases. There have been 22,041+ deaths from the infection and 819,362+ recoveries. There are 30,199+ active cases.
  • Real gross domestic product grew 2.3 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2020, Statistics Canada says, following record fluctuations in the previous two quarters. In 2020, GDP shrank 5.4 per cent, the steepest annual decline since quarterly data were first recorded in 1961. Final domestic demand rose 0.9 per cent in the fourth quarter, but was down 4.5 per cent for 2020.
  • Statistics Canada also says that over the first three quarters of 2020, disposable income for the lowest-income households increased 36.8 per cent, more than for any other households. At the same time, the youngest households recorded the largest gain in their net worth (+9.8 per cent). These changes were driven by unprecedented increases in transfers to households, as the value of government COVID-19 support measures exceeded losses in wages and salaries and self-employment income.
  • The National Advisory Committee on Immunization advises against using the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine on seniors because there is not enough information on its efficacy in older people. The NACI says the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are preferred. Similar advice was issued in Europe but is now being revisited with France overturning its earlier decision against using it on seniors and Germany reconsidering.
  • Health Canada approved the AstraZeneca vaccine for use based on clinical trial data and real world facts on the ground in places such as the United Kingdom where 20.5 million doses have been administered.
  • Following by the B.C. decision to extend the time between injections of vaccine, NACI is expected to release an opinion on the time between doses this week.
  • Canada will receive almost 945,000 doses of vaccine this week including 500,000 doses of AstraZeneca/CoviShield doses arriving Wednesday. The country will get 900,000 doses next week. Almost two million Canadians have received their first dose of vaccine.
  • Elections Canada has issued a tender for 240,000 transparent masks in case of a COVID-19 trip to the polls, with the aim to put a literal human face on the balloting process.
  • Sidney Crosby has been placed on the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol list and will not play tonight for the Pittsburgh Penguins.
  • Globally, there have now been 114,499,553+ confirmed cases with 2,540,340+ deaths and 64,690,916+ recoveries.

March 1

  • Ontario has reported it has now seen 301,839 total cases of COVID-19, adding 1,023 cases today. The death toll rose by six to 6,986. There are 659 people in hospital, up 32, with 280 in intensive care, down nine, and 175 on a ventilator, down 10. Today there are 280 new cases in Toronto and 182 in Peel. There has been a total of 284,283 resolved cases, up 939.
  • The province has now identified 535 cases of the UK variant, 27 cases of the South African variant and three cases of the Brazilian variant.
  • Ontario has administered 704,695 doses of vaccine; 263,214 people have been fully vaccinated with two doses of vaccine.
  • The province completed 35,015 tests the previous day. There have been 11,080,168 tests conducted so far. There are 13,416 tests under review.
  • There are 106 long-term care homes reporting an outbreak. There are 80 residents with an infection and 179 staff. So far in the pandemic, 3,865 residents have died because of COVID-19 infection.
  • Ontario’s website for booking COVID-19 vaccination appointments will begin a “soft launch” in six public health units this week, two weeks before it becomes available across the province. The regions participating in the soft launch are Kingston, Frontenac, and Lennox & Addington; Peterborough County-City; Hastings and Prince Edward; Leeds, Grenville, and Lanark; Grey Bruce; and Lambton.
  • Ontario may push back the administration of second doses of the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines to four months in an attempt get more shots into the arms of residents.
  • Ottawa Public Health reported 65 new confirmed cases of COVID-19. The city has now seen 14,770 cases since the first wave of infections began. The death toll is 440, up one. Twenty-one people are in hospital; seven in intensive care. There are 510 active cases and there have been 13,820 recoveries. Ottawa Public Health is reporting COVID-19 outbreaks at 27 Ottawa institutions, including long-term care homes, retirement homes and hospitals and five in schools and child-care centres. There are five other outbreaks.
  • Ottawa’s COVID-19 vaccination campaign is beginning to vaccinate residents 80 and older in high-risk neighbourhoods. A new COVID-19 vaccine eligibility tool has been launched on Ottawa Public Health’s website, to determine if you are able to book an appointment this week. The tool asks whether you identify as Indigenous, whether you have a chronic medical condition and receive home care services through Local Health Integration Network (LHIN), and what year you were born. It then asks for your postal code. Only residents who were born in or before 1941, or who are adult recipients of chronic home care, and who live in the following communities will be able to book appointments: Emerald Woods, Heatherington, Ledbury, Heron Gate, Ridgemont, Riverview and Sawmill Creek.
  • If you are in one of these neighbourhoods, you can call 613-691-5505 between 7:30 a.m. and 6 p.m., Monday to Friday, and 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Service is available in multiple languages. Pop-up clinics will be operating in these locations. Dates and times will be confirmed when you make your appointment.
  • There will be no on-campus events at Algonquin College until at least September, while the college is also preparing to focus on virtual learning through the fall term. In a letter to students and faculty, President and CEO Claude Brule says the college has decided to extend the cancellation of all on-campus events until Aug. 31.
  • Quebec has now recorded 288,353 cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. The province reported 613 new cases today. So far 270,364 have recovered. The death toll is 10,399 with six more deaths reported. The number in hospital is 612, up 11, with 122 in intensive care, up five. The province completed 17,456 tests on Feb. 27 for a total of 6,582,542. Quebec has injected 438,815 doses of vaccine so far. The province has received 537,825 doses.
  • The Outaouais reported 36 new cases of infection for a total of 6,341, along with a total of 160 deaths. Some 5,956 cases have been resolved. There are 189 active cases.
  • Newfoundland and Labrador reported two new COVID-19 cases today.
  • Prince Edward Island entered a 72-hour, provincewide lockdown Monday meant to stop two clusters of COVID-19 cases from spreading. The province has 18 active cases.
  • Health officials in New Brunswick are reporting one new case today.
  • One new case of COVID-19 was reported in Nova Scotia.
  • Manitoba announced one more death and 35 new COVID-19 cases, the lowest since the first week of October.
  • Saskatchewan reported 154 new cases.
  • Alberta is lifting more economic restrictions tied to COVID-19 while delaying others. Premier Jason Kenney says low intensity group activities, like Pilates, can resume in fitness centres, and libraries can open at 15 per cent capacity. On Monday, Alberta reported two more deaths and 291 new cases of the illness.
  • British Columbia announced on Monday it will push back the administration of second doses following new research suggesting that the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines offer protection of at least 90 per cent after just one shot. Every eligible person in B.C. will likely have their first COVID-19 vaccination by July, based on new provincial data. B.C. recorded 1,478 new cases over the past three days, along with eight additional deaths.
  • So far today Canada has seen 869,698+ confirmed cases. There have been 22,017+ deaths from the infection and 815,799+ recoveries. There are 30,864+ active cases.
  • Globally, there have now been 114,229,598+ confirmed cases with 2,533,255+ deaths and 64,490,357+ recoveries.

Feb. 28

  • Ontario has reported it has now seen 300,816 total cases of COVID-19, adding 1,062 cases today. The death toll rose by 20 to 6,990. There are 627 people in hospital, down 53, with 289 in intensive care, up 13, and 185 on a ventilator, up three. Today there are 259 new cases in Toronto, 201 in Peel and 86 in York Region. There has been a total of 283,344 resolved cases, up 1,029.
  • The province has now identified 528 cases of the UK variant, 27 cases of the South African variant and three cases of the Brazilian variant.
  • Ontario has administered 687,271 doses of vaccine; 262,103 people have been fully vaccinated with two doses of vaccine.
  • The province completed 59,416 tests the previous day. There have been 10,995,968 tests conducted so far. There are 27,989 tests under review.
  • There are 106 long-term care homes reporting an outbreak. There are 80 residents with an infection and 179 staff. So far in the pandemic, 3,864 residents have died because of COVID-19 infection.
  • Ottawa Public Health reported 55 new confirmed cases of COVID-19. The city has now seen 14,705 cases since the first wave of infections began. The death toll is 439. Twenty people are in hospital; seven in intensive care. There are 504 active cases and there have been 13,762 recoveries. Ottawa Public Health is reporting COVID-19 outbreaks at 25 Ottawa institutions, including long-term care homes, retirement homes and hospitals and four in schools and child-care centres. There are five other outbreaks.
  • The head of the Renfrew County and District Health Unit says he may implement tighter pandemic restrictions in parts of the region following a sudden rise in cases in communities just outside Ottawa. The health unit has confirmed 15 positive COVID-19 cases over the past week, mostly in the town of Arnprior, Ont., and the nearby township of McNab/Braeside, Ont., according to Dr. Robert Cushman, acting medical officer of health for the region.
  • Quebec has now recorded 287,740 cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. The province reported 737 new cases today. So far 269,530 have recovered. The death toll is 10,393 with eight more deaths reported. The number in hospital is 601, up two, with 117 in intensive care, up five. The province completed 25,347 tests on Feb. 26 for a total of 6,565,086. Quebec has injected 432,255 doses of vaccine so far. The province has received 537,825 doses.
  • The Outaouais reported 25 new cases of infection for a total of 6,305, along with a total of 160 deaths. Some 5,946 cases have been resolved. There are 174 active cases.
  • Prince Edward Island’s newly announced “circuit-breaker” measures, which limit gathering sizes and social circles, are meant to clamp down for the next two weeks on an outbreak of COVID-19 that officials believe is linked to the variant of the virus that first emerged in the United Kingdom. The province counted six new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, all among people in their 20s. None of the cases are linked to travel outside the province. The province has a dozen active cases.
  • So far today Canada has seen 866,503+ confirmed cases. There have been 21,994+ deaths from the infection and 813,778+ recoveries. There are 30,864+ active cases.
  • For the first time this season, a Toronto Raptors game was cancelled because of COVID-19 concerns. The Sunday evening game against the Chicago Bulls was cancelled following reports Friday that members of the team’s coaching staff, including head coach Nick Nurse, along with star forward Pascal Siakam, were in quarantine because of possible exposure and infection. Siakam is expected to miss the final three games before the league’s all-star break.
  • Globally, there have now been 113,925,109+ confirmed cases with 2,527,835+ deaths and 64,345,969+ recoveries.
  • The U.S. Food and Drugs Administration has approved the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use. Meanwhile the U.S. has seen 28,561,078+ cases of infection and 512,276+ deaths.

Feb. 27

  • Ontario has reported it has now seen 299,754 total cases of COVID-19, adding 1,185 cases today. The death toll rose by 16 to 6,960. There are 680 people in hospital, down three, with 276 in intensive care, down eight, and 182 on a ventilator, down 11. Today there are 331 new cases in Toronto, 220 in Peel and 119 in York Region. There has been a total of 282,315 resolved cases, up 984.
  • The province has now identified 508 cases of the UK variant, 25 cases of the South African variant and two cases of the Brazilian variant.
  • Ontario has administered 668,104 doses of vaccine; 260,972 people have been fully vaccinated with two doses of vaccine.
  • The province completed 59,416 tests the previous day. There have been 10,995,968 tests conducted so far. There are 27,989 tests under review.
  • There are 101 long-term care homes reporting an outbreak. There are 88 residents with an infection and 175 staff. So far in the pandemic, 3,865 residents have died because of COVID-19 infection.
  • Ottawa Public Health reported 62 new confirmed cases of COVID-19. The city has now seen 14,650 cases since the first wave of infections began. The death toll is 439. Twenty-four people are in hospital; seven in intensive care. There are 488 active cases and there have been 13,723 recoveries. Ottawa Public Health is reporting COVID-19 outbreaks at 23 Ottawa institutions, including long-term care homes, retirement homes and hospitals and six in schools and child-care centres. There are five other outbreaks.
  • The Eastern Ontario Health Unit has confirmed that four COVID-19 cases as variants of the virus. Health officials say further testing is required to determine the exact variant strain of each case, as the gene mutation is specific to more than one variant. Three of the cases are tied to employees at the St-Albert Cheese Co-op, located in St. Albert, Ont., which is temporarily closed as it deals with the outbreak. The fourth case has been identified as a separate, single case in the region.
  • The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board will welcome students and staff back into classrooms in September, becoming the first public school board to release plans for the upcoming school year. “We believe that student learning and well-being is best supported through in-person learning,” the board said in a news release. The school board plans to “continue safety precautions in schools and expect that as vaccine distribution continues, the risk of spread is reduced.”
  • Quebec has now recorded 287,003 cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. The province reported 858 new cases today. So far 268,645 have recovered. The death toll is 10,385 with 13 more deaths reported. The number in hospital is 599, down 21, with 112 in intensive care, down seven. The province completed 28,226 tests on Feb. 25 for a total of 6,539,739. Quebec has injected 418,399 doses of vaccine so far. The province has received 537,825 doses.
  • The first COVID-19 case in the province was reported one year ago on Feb. 27, 2020. The first death due to the disease was reported March 18, 2020.
  • The Outaouais reported 31 new cases of infection for a total of 6,280, along with a total of 160 deaths, up one. Some 5,946 cases have been resolved. There are 174 active cases.
  • So far today Canada has seen 859,475+ confirmed cases. There have been 21,893+ deaths from the infection and 807,024+ recoveries. There are 30,355+ active cases.
  • Globally, there have now been 113,552,831+ confirmed cases with 2,520,369+ deaths and 64,103,245+ recoveries.
  • The U.S. House of Representatives has passed President Joe Biden’s massive $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package. The Senate will review the bill soon. Meanwhile the U.S. has seen 28,491,818+ cases of infection and 510,797+ deaths.

Feb. 26

  • Ontario has reported it has now seen 298,569 total cases of COVID-19, adding 1,258 cases today. The death toll rose by 28 to 6,944. There are 683 people in hospital, down four, with 284 in intensive care, up one, and 193 on a ventilator, up 11. Today there are 362 new cases in Toronto, 274 in Peel and 104 in York Region. There has been a total of 281,331 resolved cases, up 1,007.
  • The province has now identified 477 cases of the UK variant, 14 cases of the South African variant and two cases of the Brazilian variant.
  • Ontario has administered 643,765 doses of vaccine; 258,014 people have been fully vaccinated with two doses of vaccine.
  • The province completed 64,049 tests the previous day. There have been 10,936,552 tests conducted so far. There are 35,502 tests under review.
  • There are 111 long-term care homes reporting an outbreak. There are 101 residents with an infection and 202 staff. So far in the pandemic, 3,864 residents have died because of COVID-19 infection.
  • As of this week, only 55,000 of 100,000 long-term care workers in Ontario have been vaccinated, according to the province’s Ministry of Health.
  • Ottawa Public Health reported 56 new confirmed cases of COVID-19. The city has now seen 14,588 cases since the first wave of infections began. The death toll is 439. Twenty-three people are in hospital; eight in intensive care. There are 482 active cases and there have been 13,667 recoveries. Ottawa Public Health is reporting COVID-19 outbreaks at 23 Ottawa institutions, including long-term care homes, retirement homes and hospitals and five in schools and child-care centres. There are five other outbreaks.
  • The Ottawa Hospital has formed a partnership to complete the final stage of manufacturing the homegrown Entos Pharmaceuticals COVID-19 vaccine.
  • Quebec has now recorded 286,145 cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. The province reported 815 new cases today. So far 267,885 have recovered. The death toll is 10,372 with 11 more deaths reported. The number in hospital is 620, down 13, with 119 in intensive care, down three. The province completed 32,744 tests on Feb. 24 for a total of 6,511,513. Quebec has injected 400,540 doses of vaccine so far. The province has received 537,825 doses.
  • The Outaouais reported 19 new cases of infection for a total of 6,249, along with a total of 159 deaths. Some 5,916 cases have been resolved. There are 155 active cases.
  • Quebec’s health minister said he’s in favour of vaccine passports for those who have been fully inoculated.
  • Newfoundland and Labrador reported four new COVID-19 cases and its first hospital outbreak today.
  • Prince Edward Island reported one new case of COVID-19 on Friday, after five were announced in the last two days. There are seven known active cases on the island.
  • Health officials in New Brunswick are reporting one new case today. Tye drop in cases is prompting an easing of some restrictions.
  • Ten new cases of COVID-19 were reported in Nova Scotia. For this reason, health officials have decided to tighten some COVID-19 restrictions in the Halifax Regional Municipality and neighbouring municipalities.
  • Manitoba announced 64 new COVID-19 cases and one more death. 
  • Saskatchewan reported 153 new cases. No deaths were reported Friday.
  • A second worker from the Olymel meatpacking plant in Red Deer, Alberta, has died after a weeks-long battle with COVID-19. Meanwhile the province reported 356 cases of COVID-19 and three more deaths on Friday.
  • British Columbia health officials announced 589 new test-positive COVID-19 cases on Friday, along with seven more deaths.
  • Health Canada has approved the AstraZeneca vaccine for use in persons 18 years and up. It is the third vaccine against COVID-19 to be approved in Canada. The company has promised 20 million doses to Canada. Controversially, the country could also receive up to 500,000 doses could be sent to Canada by the end of March as part of the global vaccine-sharing program known as COVAX. The vaccine is considered 62.1 per cent effective. Health Canada reviews of vaccines by Johnson & Johnson, (which has been recommended for approval by an FDA panel in the U.S.) and Novavax are on-going.
  • The federal government has also secured two million doses of CoviShield vaccine from India. CoviShield is a brand name for the AstraZeneca vaccine produced in India. Some 500,000 doses of the Indian-produced vaccine will arrive in next few weeks.
  • So far today Canada has seen 859,475+ confirmed cases. There have been 21,893+ deaths from the infection and 807,024+ recoveries. There are 30,355+ active cases.
  • The chief executive of the fund that manages Canada Pension Plan investments, Mark Machin, has resigned after it was revealed that he decided to travel to the United Arab Emirates, where he arranged to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
  • Globally, there have now been 112,668,925+ confirmed cases with 2,509,729+ deaths and 63,829,881+ recoveries.

Feb. 25

  • Ontario has reported it has now seen 297,311 total cases of COVID-19, adding 1,138 cases today. The death toll rose by 23 to 6,916. There are 687 people in hospital, up 12, with 283 in intensive care, down four, and 182 on a ventilator. Today there are 339 new cases in Toronto, 204 in Peel and 106 in York Region. There has been a total of 280,324 resolved cases, up 1,094.
  • The province has now identified 449 cases of the UK variant, 11 cases of the South African variant and two cases of the Brazilian variant.
  • Ontario health officials said that COVID-19 variants of concern could account for 40 per cent of new daily cases in Ontario by mid-March.
  • Ontario had no updated plan for dealing with a pandemic when COVID-19 hit the province last spring, a public commission was told. In testimony before the panel released on Thursday, the province’s chief medical officer of health, Dr. David Williams, denied responsibility for the shortcoming. The province had developed a pandemic response plan in 2006 that was updated in 2013, but the process stalled after work started on a “Ready and Resilient” blueprint in 2016.
  • Ontario has administered 621,960 doses of vaccine; 255,449 people have been fully vaccinated with two doses of vaccine.
  • The province completed 54,852 tests the previous day. There have been 10,806,152 tests conducted so far. There are 41,251 tests under review.
  • There are 117 long-term care homes reporting an outbreak. There are 109 residents with an infection and 218 staff. So far in the pandemic, 3,860 residents have died because of COVID-19 infection.
  • Ontario is testing its online COVID-19 vaccine portal to avoid the kind of crash that hit Alberta when it finally opens March 15, Health Minister Christine Elliott says.
  • Ottawa Public Health reported 62 new confirmed cases of COVID-19. The city has now seen 14,532 cases since the first wave of infections began. The death toll is 439, up two. Twenty-one people are in hospital; eight in intensive care. There are 457 active cases and there have been 13,636 recoveries. Ottawa Public Health is reporting COVID-19 outbreaks at 23 Ottawa institutions, including long-term care homes, retirement homes and hospitals and seven in schools and child-care centres. There are four other outbreaks.
  • Ottawa is currently an orange zone, according to the province’s colour-coded scale that influences public health directives on businesses, gatherings and other activities. But on Wednesday, Dr. Vera Etches told city council the city is heading toward red based such things as increased contacts by infected persons and more virus in wastewater testing. If Ottawa moves into the red zone, indoor gatherings will be limited to a maximum of five people, restaurants can’t have more than 10 customers indoors and cinemas will be closed.
  • A COVID-19 rapid testing blitz targeting 28 schools in Ottawa last weekend found no new cases of novel coronavirus. CTV has more.
  • Quebec has now recorded 285,330 cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. The province reported 858 new cases today. So far 266,879 have recovered. The death toll is 10,361 with 15 more deaths reported. The number in hospital is 633, down 22, with 122 in intensive care, down eight. The province completed 32,071 tests on Feb. 23 for a total of 6,478,769. Quebec has injected 387,076 doses of vaccine so far. The province has received 509,325 doses.
  • The Outaouais reported 21 new cases of infection for a total of 6,230, along with a total of 159 deaths. Some 5,906 cases have been resolved. There are 144 active cases.
  • Newfoundland and Labrador reported 10 new cases today.
  • Health officials in New Brunswick are reporting one new case today.
  • Eight new cases of COVID-19 were reported in Nova Scotia.
  • Manitoba announced 70 new COVID-19 cases and one new death. 
  • Saskatchewan reported 211 new cases and one more death.
  • Alberta released a pandemic budget today featuring an $18 billion deficit and more spending on health care.
  • British Columbia health officials announced 395 new test-positive COVID-19 cases on Wednesday and 10 more deaths.
  • So far today Canada has seen 857,012+ confirmed cases. There have been 21,845+ deaths from the infection and 804,020+ recoveries. There are 30,393+ active cases.
  • Canadian small businesses have racked up a collective $135 billion in debt because of the health emergency, according to estimates by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB).
  • Globally, there have now been 112,668,925+ confirmed cases with 2,499,668+ deaths and 63,587,802+ recoveries.
  • A new coronavirus variant, known as B.1.526, is spreading in New York City, researchers said on Wednesday. The new variant was first identified in samples collected in New York in November, and by mid-February represented about 12 percent of cases, according to researchers at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. They found that B.1.526 shares some worrying characteristics with B.1.351 and P.1. Several studies have suggested that those new variants are more resistant to some existing vaccines than earlier versions of the coronavirus.
  • Another new variant has been detected in southern California. CAL.20C has caused a surge in local infections and is spreading through and beyond the United States, according to a research letter published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. It possesses mutations in its spike protein that appear to make it more transmissible but also helps it to evade antibodies generated by the COVID-19 vaccines, according to researchers.
  • Moderna, which makes one of the two authorized COVID-19 vaccines in the United States, is set to launch a clinical trial of a new vaccine designed to combat the B.1.351 variant, the company announced Wednesday. Moderna said it has produced enough of its variant-specific candidate vaccine, called mRNA-1273.351, to begin testing it in people.

Feb. 24

  • Ontario has reported it has now seen 296,173 total cases of COVID-19, adding 1,054 cases today. The death toll rose by nine to 6,893. There are 675 people in hospital, down 43, with 287 in intensive care, up four, and 182 on a ventilator, up four. Today there are 363 new cases in Toronto, 186 in Peel and 94 in York Region. There has been a total of 279,230 resolved cases, up 1,291.
  • The province has now identified 395 cases of the UK variant, nine cases of the South African variant and one case of the Brazilian variant.
  • Ontario has administered 602,848 doses of vaccine; 251,590 people have been fully vaccinated with two doses of vaccine. Ontario has delivered the most vaccine doses in the country, but based on population size, it’s lagging behind other provinces with just 2.1% of the population vaccinated.
  • The province completed 54,852 tests the previous day. There have been 10,806,152 tests conducted so far. There are 41,251 tests under review.
  • There are 117 long-term care homes reporting an outbreak. There are 109 residents with an infection and 218 staff. So far in the pandemic, 3,860 residents have died because of COVID-19 infection.
  • Ontario’s online platform for people in the general population to book their COVID-19 vaccine appointment will launch on March 15. People over the age 80 in Ontario can begin booking their appointments starting on March 22. In April, people over 75 will be able to book and in May, people over 70 get access. In June, people aged 65 and up can book.
  • Premier Doug Ford announced on Wednesday an investment of $115 million to train 8,200 new personal support workers in long-term care homes and community care sectors to improve conditions in long-term care residents across the province.
  • Ottawa Public Health reported 41 new confirmed cases of COVID-19. The city has now seen 14,470 cases since the first wave of infections began. The death toll is 437. Twenty-one people are in hospital; eight in intensive care. There are 446 active cases and there have been 13,587 recoveries. Ottawa Public Health is reporting COVID-19 outbreaks at 22 Ottawa institutions, including long-term care homes, retirement homes and hospitals and eight in schools and child-care centres. There are four other outbreaks. To date, eight cases of the B.1.1.7 variant and one case of the B.1.351 variant have been confirmed in Ottawa.
  • Ottawa’s first pop-up vaccination clinics for adults 80 and older and adult recipients of chronic home care will be held in Ledbury, Heron Gate, Ridgemont, Emerald Woods, Sawmill Creek, and Riverview starting next week.
  • According to Ottawa Public Health’s (OPH) COVID-19 dashboard, there are five active outbreaks at shelters across the city affecting 252 people. While OPH does not list the names of shelters on its dashboard, cases at one in particular have continued to grow. Two weeks ago it reported 70 positive cases. There are now 108, CBC reports. OPH also declared an outbreak at the physical distancing centre on Nicholas Street on Tuesday, with a number of workers and clients testing positive. In a memo to the city, OPH added that there have also been cases at the Dempsey Community Centre and Tom Brown Respite Centre.
  • COVID-19 assessment centres in Ottawa have seen a spike in demand for COVID-19 tests in the past couple of days as significantly more children are being tested, CTV says. Local assessment centres processed 2,208 swabs on Feb. 22, compared to 1,662 on Feb. 15 and 1,545 on Feb. 8, for example. 
  • Members of City Council’s transportation committee next week will consider staff recommendations to allow the city to close streets for expanded patio use, allow patios on city property to say open until 2 a.m. and waive most fees for the 2021 season.
  • Quebec has now recorded 284,472 cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. The province reported 806 new cases today. So far 266,138 have recovered. The death toll is 10,346 with 17 more deaths reported. The number in hospital is 655, down 25, with 130 in intensive care, up 10. The province completed 33,435 tests on Feb. 22 for a total of 6,446,698. Quebec has injected 376,910 doses of vaccine so far. The province has received 509,325 doses.
  • The Outaouais reported 16 new cases of infection for a total of 6,209, along with a total of 159 deaths, up one. Some 5,897 cases have been resolved. There are 138 active cases.
  • Newfoundland and Labrador reported eight new cases and one death today.
  • Health officials in New Brunswick are reporting two new cases of COVID-19 today.
  • Three new cases of COVID-19 were reported in Nova Scotia on Wednesday, bringing the number of known active cases to 21.
  • Manitoba announced 45 new COVID-19 cases and one new death. 
  • Saskatchewan reported its lowest new daily case number since November Wednesday, with 56 new cases and three more deaths.
  • Alberta recorded 430 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, as well as 13 additional deaths from the disease. Meanwhile Wednesday also marked the first day that appointments for COVID-19 vaccines could be booked by Albertans 75 and older. The launch wasn’t without hiccups, as many people reported the website crashed or would not load as they tried to book appointments. Calls to 811 also rang busy.
  • British Columbia health officials announced 456 new test-positive COVID-19 cases on Wednesday and two more deaths.
  • So far today Canada has seen 855,126+ confirmed cases. There have been 21,807+ deaths from the infection and 802,926+ recoveries. There are 30,677+ active cases.
  • Black Canadians have experienced higher unemployment rates than others during the pandemic, a new report from Statistics Canada shows.
  • Globally, there have now been 112,222,290+ confirmed cases with 2,487,766+ deaths and 63,379,231+ recoveries.
  • In an analysis released Wednesday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine has met the requirements for emergency use authorization — another step toward the authorization of a third shot for the United States.

Feb. 23

  • Ontario has reported it has now seen 295,119 total cases of COVID-19, adding 975 cases today. The death toll rose by 12 to 6,884. There are 718 people in hospital, down 72, with 283 in intensive care, up three, and 186 on a ventilator, down three. Today there are 343 new cases in Toronto, 186 in Peel and 89 in York Region. There has been a total of 277,939 resolved cases, up 1,002.
  • The province has now identified 390 cases of the UK variant, nine cases of the South African variant and one case of the Brazilian variant.
  • Ontario has administered 585,707 doses of vaccine; 247,042 people have been fully vaccinated with two doses of vaccine.
  • The province completed 25,979 tests the previous day. There have been 10,751,300 tests conducted so far. There are 28,802 tests under review.
  • There are 127 long-term care homes reporting an outbreak. There are 125 residents with an infection and 228 staff. So far in the pandemic, 3,858 residents have died because of COVID-19 infection.
  • Dr. Robert Cushman, with the Renfrew County and District Health Unit, said the health unit is seeing between five and 20 contacts per infected person in community cases — a number he says is too high. CBC has more.
  • Solicitor General Sylvia Jones said Ontario is “empowering” local health units to draw up their own specific plans to distribute COVID-19 vaccine doses. Vaccines will be distributed to health units based on population, Jones said, and while they must follow the province’s plan to vaccinate priority populations first, they can also determine the best way to serve the needs of their communities.
  • Ottawa Public Health reported 25 new confirmed cases of COVID-19. The city has now seen 14,429 cases since the first wave of infections began. The death toll is 437. Twenty-one people are in hospital; seven in intensive care. There are 451 active cases and there have been 13,541 recoveries. Ottawa Public Health is reporting COVID-19 outbreaks at 22 Ottawa institutions, including long-term care homes, retirement homes and hospitals and seven in schools and child-care centres. There are five other outbreaks.
  • Quebec has now recorded 283,666 cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. The province reported 739 new cases today. So far 265,456 have recovered. The death toll is 10,330 with 12 more deaths reported. The number in hospital is 680, down nine, with 120 in intensive care, up three. The province completed 17,970 tests on Feb. 21 for a total of 6,413,263. Quebec has injected 365,978 doses of vaccine so far. The province has received 509,325 doses.
  • The Outaouais reported 24 new cases of infection for a total of 6,193, along with a total of 158 deaths. Some 5,868 cases have been resolved. There are 143 active cases.
  • Quebec’s COVID-19 vaccination campaign will begin inoculating Quebecers 85 and older in the general population next week. People 70 to 79 in the Montreal area will also be able to get the shots. Meanwhile Montreal’s Olympic Stadium’s Atrium is being turned into a mass vaccination site.
  • A new COVID-19 outbreak has been declared at CHSLD Lionel-Émond in Gatineau, where at least two dozen residents and staff have contracted the illness while waiting for their second vaccine doses.
  • People with the coronavirus could lose their sense of smell and taste for up to five months, concludes a study involving 813 Quebec health-care workers who tested positive for COVID-19.
  • Health authorities in Newfoundland and Labrador are reporting 15 new cases today.
  • For the first time in more than two months, no new cases of COVID-19 were reported in New Brunswick.
  • Nova Scotia is reporting three new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday and discovered that there are three more cases of the B.1.1.7 variant, first discovered in the U.K. The province also saw a new premier sworn in today as 37 year old Ian Rankin took the oath.
  • Manitoba has reported 76 new cases today.
  • There are 122 new cases of COVID-19 reported in Saskatchewan today along with four new deaths.
  • Albertans 75 and older will be able to start booking appointments for their COVID-19 vaccinations starting on Wednesday at 8 a.m. The province saw 267 new cases and 11 more deaths today.
  • British Columbia reported 559 new cases and one new death.
  • So far today Canada has seen 851,805+ confirmed cases. There have been 21,748+ deaths from the infection and 798,651+ recoveries. There are 31,164+ active cases.
  • Canada’s chief public health officer says the timing of when Canada will return to some state of normalcy is not solely dependent on the country achieving mass vaccination. Other indicators include “the actual epidemic curve in terms of where it’s moving, the rates of serious outcomes including ICU admissions, hospitalizations and deaths…and you also want the public health capacity for testing, tracing, contact tracing all to be in place.”
  • Canada’s prison ombudsman is calling for alternatives to incarceration in a new report that shows the number of COVID-19 cases at federal facilities more than doubled in the pandemic’s second wave.
  • Globally, there have now been 111,830,264+ confirmed cases with 2,476,826+ deaths and 63,104,189+ recoveries.

Feb. 22

  • Ontario has reported it has now seen 294,144 total cases of COVID-19, adding 1,058 cases today. The death toll rose by 11 to 6,872. There are 646 people in hospital, down 14, with 280 in intensive care, up three, and 189 on a ventilator, up nine. Today there are 325 new cases in Toronto, 215 in Peel and 87 in York Region. There has been a total of 276,937 resolved cases, up 1,083.
  • The province has now identified 390 cases of the UK variant, nine cases of the South African variant and one case of the Brazilian variant.
  • Ontario has administered 569,455 doses of vaccine; 240,669 people have been fully vaccinated with two doses of vaccine.
  • The province completed 31,163 tests the previous day. There have been 10,725,321 tests conducted so far. There are 11,883 tests under review.
  • There are 129 long-term care homes reporting an outbreak. There are 126 residents with an infection and 242 staff. So far in the pandemic, 3,857 residents have died because of COVID-19 infection.
  • Today York Region near Toronto has joined the red zone of COVID-19 restrictions.
  • Ottawa Public Health reported 55 new confirmed cases of COVID-19. The city has now seen 14,404 cases since the first wave of infections began. The death toll is 437, up one. Twenty-two people are in hospital; six in intensive care. There are 477 active cases and there have been 13,490 recoveries. Ottawa Public Health is reporting COVID-19 outbreaks at 21 Ottawa institutions, including long-term care homes, retirement homes and hospitals and six in schools and child-care centres. There are four other outbreaks.
  • Quebec has now recorded 282,927 cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. The province reported 805 new cases today. So far 263,537 have recovered. The death toll is 10,318 with 11 more deaths reported. The number in hospital is 689, up three, with 117 in intensive care, down two. The province completed 17,684 tests on Feb. 20 for a total of 6,495,293. Quebec has injected 353,894 doses of vaccine so far.
  • The Outaouais reported 30 new cases of infection for a total of 6,169, along with a total of 158 deaths. Some 5,855 cases have been resolved. There are 126 active cases.
  • Gyms and restaurants are allowed to reopen across the Outaouais as the province lifts some controls over the area.
  • Schools in Quebec are grappling with nearly 3,000 active COVID-19 cases among students and staff, according to government data. As of Monday afternoon, there were 282 active outbreaks in educational facilities, representing 31.5 per cent of active outbreaks across the province.
  • Sugar shacks across Quebec are banding together to launch “gourmet boxes” of their classic Quebec cuisine. Some 70 sugar shacks have banded together for the “Ma cabane à la maison” project.
  • Newfoundland and Labrador reported 14 new cases today.
  • The tiny Nunavut community of Arviat reported 12 more cases of COVID-19 today.
  • Nova Scotia has 19 active cases of COVID-19. One new case is being reported today.
  • New Brunswick has reported one new case and one more death from COVID-19 today.
  • Manitoba reported 97 new cases along with two more deaths.
  • Saskatchewan reported 177 new cases today.
  • Alberta reported 273 new cases of COVID-19 and 16 additional deaths on Monday. 
  • Rapid testing is underway after the COVID-19 variant first identified in the U.K. was detected at seven schools in the Vancouver area communities of Surrey and Delta. So far no transmission has taken place, officials say. “It’s very good news that the testing that has been done so far has indicated no transmission,” said British Columbia‘s Education Minister Jennifer Whiteside. Meanwhile the province has reported 1,425 cases over the past three days, along with eight more deaths.
  • So far today Canada has seen 849,232+ confirmed cases. There have been 21,707+ deaths from the infection and 794,944+ recoveries. There are 31,375+ active cases.
  • Amid delays and organizational frustrations, a new poll from the non-profit Angus Reid Institute finds Canadians are more inclined to see COVID-19 vaccine rollout as a failure on the part of the federal government. Three-in-five (59 per cent) say that Canada should be performing better than or at least as well as well as other nations in the amount of vaccine it has administered. The rest (41 per cent) are of the view that setbacks have been out of anyone’s control.
  • Meanwhile some 643,000 doses of Pfizer and Moderna vaccine doses will arrive this week in Canada.
  • Health Canada is poised to make a decision on whether to authorize a promising COVID-19 vaccine from AstraZeneca. Dr. Supriya Sharma told the House of Commons health committee the regulator has received all the necessary scientific information from the company but is still looking into questions about labelling and the product monograph — the information disseminated by Health Canada to medical professionals about how and when a vaccine should be administered and in what groups.
  • Globally, there have now been 111,528,650+ confirmed cases with 2,468,785+ deaths and 62,909,061+ recoveries.
  • The United States now has seen 500,236+ COVID-19 deaths — a grim milestone acknowledged by President Joe Biden today. Dr. Anthony Fauci told “Good Morning America” that the U.S. has “done worse than most any other country” in the battle against the coronavirus, despite being a “highly developed, rich country.”
  • French drug maker Sanofi, battling development delays with its own vaccine candidates against COVID-19, is turning over more of its vaccine production facilities to industrial competitors, teaming up with Johnson & Johnson to produce millions of doses of its rival coronavirus vaccine.

Feb. 21

  • Ontario has reported it has now seen 293,086 total cases of COVID-19, adding 1,087 cases today. The death toll rose by 13 to 6,861. There are 660 people in hospital, down 39, with 277 in intensive care, up 14, and 181 on a ventilator. Today there are 344 new cases in Toronto, 156 in Peel and 122 in York Region. There has been a total of 275,854 resolved cases, up 1,140.
  • The province has now identified 391 cases of the UK variant, nine cases of the South African variant and one case of the Brazilian variant.
  • Ontario has administered 556,533 doses of vaccine; 235,922 people have been fully vaccinated with two doses of vaccine.
  • The province completed 48,178 tests the previous day. There have been 10,694,158 tests conducted so far. There are 17,307 tests under review.
  • There are 130 long-term care homes reporting an outbreak. There are 126 residents with an infection and 246 staff. So far in the pandemic, 3,853 residents have died because of COVID-19 infection.
  • Ottawa Public Health reported 80 new confirmed cases of COVID-19. The city has now seen 14,349 cases since the first wave of infections began. The death toll is 436. Twenty-two people are in hospital; four in intensive care. There are 476 active cases and there have been 13,437 recoveries. Ottawa Public Health is reporting COVID-19 outbreaks at 22 Ottawa institutions, including long-term care homes, retirement homes and hospitals and six in schools and child-care centres. There are four other outbreaks.
  • Quebec has now recorded 282,122 cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. The province reported 666 new cases today. So far 263,537 have recovered. The death toll is 10,307 with 15 more deaths reported. The number in hospital is 686, down 14, with 119 in intensive care, down one. The province completed 24,878 tests on Feb. 19 for a total of 6,477,609. Quebec has injected 344,900 doses of vaccine so far.
  • The Outaouais reported 10 new cases of infection for a total of 6,139, along with a total of 158 deaths. Some 5,855 cases have been resolved. There are 126 active cases.
  • So far today Canada has seen 845,054+ confirmed cases. There have been 21,658+ deaths from the infection and 790,981+ recoveries. There are 31,830+ active cases.
  • Globally, there have now been 111,018,903+ confirmed cases with 2,463,873+ deaths and 62,745,916+ recoveries.

Feb. 20

  • Ontario has reported it has now seen 291,999 total cases of COVID-19, adding 1,228 cases today. The death toll rose by 28 to 6,848. There are 699 people in hospital, with 263 in intensive care, down six, and 181 on a ventilator, down nine. Today there are 331 new cases in Toronto, 228 in Peel and 132 in York Region. There has been a total of 274,714 resolved cases, up 1,313.
  • The province has now identified 386 cases of the UK variant, nine cases of the South African variant and one case of the Brazilian variant.
  • Ontario has administered 540,129 doses of vaccine; 229,151 people have been fully vaccinated with two doses of vaccine.
  • The province completed 57,194 tests the previous day. There have been 10,645,980 tests conducted so far. There are 30,762 tests under review.
  • There are 126 long-term care homes reporting an outbreak. There are 126 residents with an infection and 243 staff. So far in the pandemic, 3,849 residents have died because of COVID-19 infection.
  • Ottawa Public Health reported 53 new confirmed cases of COVID-19. The city has now seen 14,269 cases since the first wave of infections began. The death toll is 436, up one. Twenty-two people are in hospital; four in intensive care. There are 444 active cases and there have been 13,389 recoveries. Ottawa Public Health is reporting COVID-19 outbreaks at 20 Ottawa institutions, including long-term care homes, retirement homes and hospitals and six in schools and child-care centres. There are seven other outbreaks.
  • Quebec has now recorded 281,456 cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. The province reported 769 new cases today. So far 262,506 have recovered. The death toll is 10,292 with 14 more deaths reported. The number in hospital is 700, down 23, with 120 in intensive care, down seven. The province completed 30,068 tests on Feb. 18 for a total of 6,452,731. Quebec has injected 329,324 doses of vaccine so far.
  • The Outaouais reported 23 new cases of infection for a total of 6,129, along with a total of 158 deaths. Some 5,846 cases have been resolved. There are 125 active cases.
  • So far today Canada has seen 841,814+ confirmed cases. There have been 21,604+ deaths from the infection and 787,082+ recoveries. There are 32,241+ active cases.
  • The Canada-U.S. border will remain closed to non-essential travellers until March 21.
  • More than one in three federal public servants were granted paid time off work during the first nine months of the COVID-19 pandemic, at a cost exceeding $800 million, according to a Treasury Board document.
  • The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) office in Ogdensburg, N.Y., says it’s no longer able to hold on to an overflowing amount of Canadian mail — and customers north of the border are now scrambling to make alternate arrangements. CBC has more.
  • Globally, there have now been 111,018,903+ confirmed cases with 2,458,739+ deaths and 62,554,334+ recoveries.

Feb. 19

  • Ontario has reported it has now seen 290,771 total cases of COVID-19, adding 1,150 cases today. The death toll rose by 47 to 6,820. There are 689 people in hospital, with 269 in intensive care, 190 on a ventilator. Today there are 376 new cases in Toronto, 264 in Peel and 108 in York Region. There has been a total of 273,401 resolved cases, up 1,255.
  • The province has now identified 385 cases of the UK variant, nine cases of the South African variant and one case of the Brazilian variant.
  • Ontario has administered 518,834 doses of vaccine; 217,715 people have been fully vaccinated with two doses of vaccine.
  • The province completed 65,372 tests the previous day. There have been 10,588,786 tests conducted so far. There are 39,970 tests under review.
  • There are 130 long-term care homes reporting an outbreak. There are 164 residents with an infection and 259 staff. So far in the pandemic, 3,838 residents have died because of COVID-19 infection.
  • The province has extended the stay at home order for Toronto, Peel Region and North Bay until March 9. York Region will be moving out of lockdown.
  • The six-week long COVID-19 outbreak at the Roberta Place care home in Barrie, ON, that took the lives of 70 people and infected more than 200 has been declared over by the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit.
  • Ottawa Public Health reported 65 new confirmed cases of COVID-19. The city has now seen 14,216 cases since the first wave of infections began. The death toll is 435. Twenty-one people are in hospital; four in intensive care. There are 439 active cases and there have been 13,342 recoveries. Ottawa Public Health is reporting COVID-19 outbreaks at 20 Ottawa institutions, including long-term care homes, retirement homes and hospitals and five in schools and child-care centres. There are six other outbreaks.
  • Quebec has now recorded 280,687 cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. The province reported 800 new cases today. So far 261,429 have recovered. The death toll is 10,278 with 14 more deaths reported. The number in hospital is 723, down 24, with 127 in intensive care, down two. The province completed 32,491 tests on Feb. 17 for a total of 6,422,663. Quebec has injected 311,651 doses of vaccine so far.
  • The Outaouais reported 19 new cases of infection for a total of 6,106, along with a total of 158 deaths. Some 5,802 cases have been resolved. There are 127 active cases.
  • Newfoundland and Labrador is reporting 60 new cases of infection today.
  • New Brunswick is reporting six new cases on Friday.
  • Health officials in Nova Scotia are reporting two new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, as the number of active cases in the province has increased to 15. The province says it will begin testing passengers on all ferries arriving from Newfoundland.
  • Manitoba reported 92 new COVID-19 cases on Friday. The province has also identified three more cases of the U.K. variant. Two more deaths were reported.
  • There are 146 new cases of COVID-19 in Saskatchewan Friday and three more deaths. 
  • Alberta recorded 325 new cases on Friday, as well as seven additional deaths from the disease.
  • British Columbia health officials announced 508 new test-positive COVID-19 cases on Friday, along with six deaths.
  • So far today Canada has seen 840,586+ confirmed cases. There have been 21,576+ deaths from the infection and 786,769+ recoveries. There are 32,037+ active cases.
  • Transport Canada has fined two airline passengers a combined $17,000 after presenting falsified COVID-19 tests before flying back to Canada.
  • A Canadian forecast shows new variants of COVID-19 will increase the threat of a spring resurgence unless enhanced public health measures are maintained, federal health officials said on Friday. The officials told reporters that new modelling showed the domestic death toll could be between 21,510 and 22,420 by Feb 28, with total cases ranging from 841,650 to 878,850. The prime minister said during a media briefing that he had urged the provinces to be vigilant about community spread of the variants and to not relax restrictions too quickly.
  • At present more than 700 cases have been linked to three variants — the B117 variant first identified in the U.K., the B1351 variant first identified in South Africa and the P1 variant first traced to travellers from Brazil. Variant cases have been detected in 10 provinces and there is evidence of community spread in at least five. 
  • Short- and long-term forecasts that exclude the spread of COVID-19 variants show infection rates flattening and declining in the coming weeks. When the variants are included, projections show a spike in cases to more than 20,000 a day by mid-March if public health restrictions are relaxed further. The modelling shows a similar dramatic spike by mid-April if the current level of restrictions are maintained. 
  • Justin Trudeau also announced the extension of the Canada Emergency Response Benefit and caregivers benefit for 12 more weeks. The regular EI benefit has been extended to 50 weeks. The Canada Recovery Sickness benefit has been extended from two to four weeks.
  • The Canadian government has released the list of hotels for mandatory COVID-19 quarantine for air travellers. Starting Monday, air travellers arriving in Canada will be required — at their own expense — to book a three-day stay at one of several approved hotels.
  • In December, the number of Canadians receiving regular Employment Insurance benefits rose 2.0 per cent (+26,000) to 1.3 million. There were 1.8 million unemployed people in December, including 1.5 million who were looking for work and 300,000 who had a connection to a job, because they either were on temporary layoff or had arrangements to begin a new job in the near future, Statistics Canada says.
  • Retail sales posted their largest decline since the low of April driven by the COVID-19 pandemic, decreasing 3.4 per cent to $53.4 billion in December. Sales were down in nine of 11 subsectors, representing 83.6 per cent of retail sales, Statistics Canada says.
  • Globally, there have now been 110,430,962+ confirmed cases with 2,444,074+ deaths and 62,215,322+ recoveries.
  • Pfizer says its COVID-19 vaccine can be safely stored at -25°C to -15°C temperatures more commonly found in pharmaceutical freezers and refrigerators.
  • British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will host Justin Trudeau and other G7 counterparts for a virtual leaders’ summit today aimed at bringing renewed momentum to COVID-19 vaccine distribution. Johnson will be calling on G7 leaders to increase their funding for the COVAX Facility, which aims to distribute vaccines to poorer countries.

Feb. 18

  • Ontario has reported it has now seen 289,621 total cases of COVID-19, adding 1,038 cases today. The death toll rose by 44 to 6,773. There are 758 people in hospital, with 277 in intensive care, 192 on a ventilator. Today there are 376 new cases in Toronto, 142 in Peel and 122 in York Region. There has been a total of 272,146 resolved cases, up 1,277.
  • The province has now identified 348 cases of the UK variant, 10 cases of the South African variant and one case of the Brazilian variant.
  • Ontario has administered 501,867 doses of vaccine; 205,802 people have been fully vaccinated with two doses of vaccine.
  • The province completed 56,165 tests the previous day. There have been 10,523,414 tests conducted so far. There are 44,532 tests under review.
  • There are 142 long-term care homes reporting an outbreak. There are 191 residents with an infection and 323 staff. So far in the pandemic, 3,820 residents have died because of COVID-19 infection.
  • Ontario’s Financial Accountability Office said Thursday that 355,000 jobs have disappeared, while another 765,000 people had work hours cut and youth unemployment jumped to 22 per cent in the past year of pandemic. The job losses are the single largest annual decline on record.
  • Despite residents being told to stay home during the pandemic, an unidentified Ontario Superior Court judge has reportedly been presiding over Toronto-area court cases from the Caribbean, according to media reports.
  • Ottawa Public Health reported 46 new confirmed cases of COVID-19. The city has now seen 14,151 cases since the first wave of infections began. The death toll is 435, up one. Eighteen people are in hospital; three in intensive care. There are 445 active cases and there have been 13,271 recoveries. Ottawa Public Health is reporting COVID-19 outbreaks at 18 Ottawa institutions, including long-term care homes, retirement homes and hospitals and five in schools and child-care centres. There are six other outbreaks.
  • Two employees at the Stirling Park Retirement Community have been fired following allegations an ineligible person received the COVID-19 vaccine at the facility in Ottawa’s west end.
  • The Wabano Centre for Aboriginal Health, in partnership with Ottawa Public Health, will administer the first round of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines to about 340 seniors aged 70 years or older today.
  • Quebec has now recorded 279,887 cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. The province reported 900 new cases today. So far 260,245 have recovered. The death toll is 10,264 with six more deaths reported. The number in hospital is 747, down 19, with 129 in intensive care, down one. The province completed 29,363  tests on Feb. 16 for a total of 6,390,172. Quebec has injected 302,118 doses of vaccine so far.
  • The Outaouais reported eight new cases of infection for a total of 6,087, along with a total of 158 deaths, up one. Some 5,802 cases have been resolved. There are 127 active cases.
  • Starting Monday, the Outaouais region will move into the orange zone of opening which means the curfew will now be 9:30 p.m. and restaurants and other non-essential businesses can open with limits.
  • Data collected in Quebec shows the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines to be 80 per cent effective after 14 days in younger vaccinated populations (primarily health-care workers) and after three weeks among the residents of care homes who tend to be much older and sicker. Both Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna have issued protocols on administering a second dose at a precise interval (21 and 28 days, respectively) based on clinical studies. But Quebec’s early numbers, which the CIQ said align with results observed in British Columbia and Israel, suggest it’s eminently defensible to delay the booster shot longer in the context of a vaccine shortage.
  • Newfoundland and Labrador’s COVID-19 case count jumped to 48 on Thursday.
  • Health officials in New Brunswick reported four new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday. As well, the province has announced a potential delay in the administration of the second dose of COVID-19 vaccines for those at lower risk for up to 90 days.
  • Two new cases of COVID-19 have been announced in Nova Scotia today.
  • Manitoba reported its highest one-day jump in COVID-19 cases in nearly three weeks on Thursday with 139 new infections. Two deaths were also confirmed.
  • The Saskatchewan Health Authority reported 146 new cases.
  • Alberta reported 415 new cases of COVID-19 and seven additional deaths on Thursday.
  • After more than a month of relatively stable single day COVID-19 case counts in British Columbia, 617 new cases were reported Thursday, the highest single day number since early January. Four more deaths were reported.
  • So far today Canada has seen 836,090+ confirmed cases. There have been 21,485+ deaths from the infection and 781,043+ recoveries. There are 32,986+ active cases.
  • The Public Health Agency of Canada says the country will now receive 5.1 million doses more of the Pfizer and Modern vaccines in the second quarter of the year than originally expected. Maj.-Gen. Dany Fortin, the military commander leading Canada’s vaccine logistics, said 403,650 doses of the Pfizer vaccine arrived in Canada this week. As of last Saturday, only 2.7 per cent of Canadians had received one shot of a vaccine and less than one per cent had received both doses.
  • Pfizer plans to ship 475,000 doses next week and then 444,600 per week next month, according to the federal government’s vaccine distribution tracker.
  • Moderna, which already has delivered 500,000 doses, will deliver a reduced shipment of 168,000 doses next week. Delivery dates for the rest of Moderna’s 1.3 million doses it’s committed to delivering by the end of March, remain uncertain.
  • Health Canada is still reviewing three vaccines for approval. These are from AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson and Novavax.
  • CBC reports that Canada’s private COVID-19 testing industry is booming, but some experts say oversight is lacking. Also gaps in the data collected by provinces suggest we may not have an accurate picture of the pandemic.
  • Commissioner Randy Ambrosie says the CFL remains committed to returning in 2021. The CFL unveiled a full 18-game schedule for all nine teams last November, one that Ambrosie said it remains on track for in 2021. However, the commissioner added the league is keeping all of its options — including teams playing fewer than 18 games — open.
  • Globally, there have now been 110,013,841+ confirmed cases with 2,432,695+ deaths and 61,961,300+ recoveries.

Feb. 17

  • Ontario has reported it has now seen 288,583 total cases of COVID-19, adding 847 cases today. The death toll rose by 10 to 6,729. There are 742 people in hospital, with 292 in intensive care, 201 on a ventilator. Today there are 257 new cases in Toronto, 170 in Peel and 131 in York Region. There has been a total of 270,869 resolved cases, 1,456 today.
  • The province has now identified 338 cases of the UK variant, six cases of the South African variant and one case of the Brazilian variant.
  • Ontario has administered 489,484 doses of vaccine; 195,366 people have been fully vaccinated with two doses of vaccine.
  • The province completed 33,977 tests the previous day. There have been 10,467,249 tests conducted so far. There are 33,730 tests under review.
  • There are 155 long-term care homes reporting an outbreak. There are 210 residents with an infection and 333 staff. So far in the pandemic, 3,807 residents have died because of COVID-19 infection.
  • Ontario is calling for its larger school boards to offer targeted COVID-19 testing in at least five per cent of their elementary and secondary schools, reaching two per cent of their student populations weekly.
  • The City of Toronto including Mayor John Tory, Medical Officer of Health Dr. Eileen de Villa and Fire Chief and General Manager of the Office of Emergency Management Matthew Pegg are requesting that Toronto remain in the Shutdown Zone under the provincial Lockdown Regulation and subject to the Stay-at-Home Order until March 9 at the earliest.
  • Ottawa Public Health reported 67 new confirmed cases of COVID-19. The city has now seen 14,105 cases since the first wave of infections began. The death toll is 434, up one. Eighteen people are in hospital; three in intensive care. There are 447 active cases and there have been 13,224 recoveries. Ottawa Public Health is reporting COVID-19 outbreaks at 18 Ottawa institutions, including long-term care homes, retirement homes and hospitals and six in schools and child-care centres. There are six other outbreaks.
  • The City of Ottawa says while it is good news that Ontario moved all adults 80 and older into phase one of the vaccination rollout, current supply can’t meet that demand, CTV reports. In a memo to council on Tuesday, staff said they are adjusting vaccination plans as required, but noted that Ottawa presently cannot accommodate wider vaccinations yet.
  • Quebec has now recorded 278,987 cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. The province reported 800 new cases today. So far 259,416 have recovered. The death toll is 10,258 with 12 more deaths reported. The number in hospital is 766, down five, with 130 in intensive care, down four. The province completed 28,672 tests on Feb. 15 for a total of 6,360,809. Quebec has injected 299,673 doses of vaccine so far.
  • The Outaouais reported 14 new cases of infection for a total of 6,079, along with a total of 158 deaths, up one. Some 5,792 cases have been resolved. There are 129 active cases.
  • Starting Monday, the Outaouais region will move into the orange zone of opening which means the curfew will now be 9:30 p.m. and restaurants and other non-essential businesses can open with limits.
  • New Brunswick has reported three new cases today as did Nova Scotia and the Northwest Territories.
  • Newfoundland and Labrador’s daily COVID-19 numbers took a big jump back up Wednesday, with 44 new confirmed cases. This comes after two straight days of seven cases.
  • Manitoba reported one new death and 76 cases today.
  • The Saskatchewan Health Authority is reporting five deaths and 124 new confirmed cases.
  • Alberta reported 277 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday and seven more deaths from the illness.
  • British Columbia health officials announced 427 new test-positive COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, along with three new deaths.
  • So far today Canada has seen 833,226+ confirmed cases. There have been 21,421+ deaths from the infection and 778,543+ recoveries. There are 33,267+ active cases.
  • The Consumer Price Index rose at a faster pace in January (1.0 per cent) year over year than in December (0.7 per cent), Statistics Canada says. The acceleration in consumer prices was largely due to higher prices for durable goods (1.7 per cent) and rising gasoline prices (6.1 per cent) compared with December 2020. 
  • Manufacturing sales rose 0.9 per cent to $54.2 billion in December, Statistics Canada says. Sales were up in nine of 21 industries, led by the wood product, transportation equipment, and petroleum and coal product industries.
  • Today’s planned delivery of Pfizer vaccine doses has been delayed by one day due to inclement winter weather in the United States.
  • Globally, there have now been 109,263,150+ confirmed cases with 2,410,772+ deaths and 61,449,302+ recoveries.

Feb. 16

  • Ontario has reported it has now seen 287,736 total cases of COVID-19, adding 904 cases today and 964 cases Monday. The death toll rose by 26 to 6,719. There are 742 people in hospital, with 292 in intensive care, 201 on a ventilator. Today there are 320 new cases in Toronto, 154 in Peel and 118 in York Region. There has been a total of 268,413 resolved cases.
  • The province has now identified 309 cases of the UK variant, nine cases of the South African variant and one case of the Brazilian variant.
  • Ontario has administered 480,377 doses of vaccine; 186,934 people have been fully vaccinated with two doses of vaccine.
  • The province completed 27,005 tests the previous day. There have been 10,433,272 tests conducted so far. There are 15,024 tests under review.
  • There are 170 long-term care homes reporting an outbreak. There are 269 residents with an infection and 391 staff. So far in the pandemic, 3,798 residents have died because of COVID-19 infection.
  • Ontario’s health minister says the province is not ready to release a more detailed vaccine rollout plan because of continued supply shortages. Christine Elliott says the province knows which age groups it wants to priorize as it distributes its vaccines, but it does not yet have a reliable supply chain.
  • Ottawa Public Health reported 31 new confirmed cases of COVID-19. The city has now seen 14,038 cases since the first wave of infections began. The death toll is 434, up one. Eighteen people are in hospital; three in intensive care. There are 435 active cases and there have been 13,169 recoveries. Ottawa Public Health is reporting COVID-19 outbreaks at 18 Ottawa institutions, including long-term care homes, retirement homes and hospitals and seven in schools and child-care centres. There are seven other outbreaks.
  • Ottawa officially enters the orange zone today which means lockdown restrictions on non-essential businesses such as restaurants, gyms and personal care salons can open with limits. Gathering limits have been eased and many sports can resume. In Ontario, 27 health units are now out of lockdown. Toronto, Peel and York regions remain in lockdown.
  • Quebec has now recorded 278,187 cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. The province reported 669 new cases today. So far 258,542 have recovered. The death toll is 10,246 with 17 more deaths reported. The number in hospital is 771, down 33, with 134 in intensive care, down two. The province completed 16,824 tests on Feb. 14 for a total of 6,327,137. Quebec has injected 297,694 doses of vaccine so far.
  • The Outaouais reported nine new cases of infection for a total of 6,065, along with a total of 157 deaths. Some 5,784 cases have been resolved. There are 124 active cases.
  • Quebec is preparing to ramp up its mass inoculation program this week, following a four-week pause during which COVID-19 vaccine deliveries slowed to a trickle. A total of 91,260 new doses will arrive in Quebec this week from Pfizer-BioNTech. CBC has more.
  • Newfoundland and Labrador has seven new confirmed cases of COVID-19. There are 296 active cases.
  • New Brunswick reported three new cases and one more death Tuesday.
  • Nova Scotia also reported three new cases.
  • There are four more deaths and 167 new cases of COVID-19 in Manitoba. The data is the total numbers from Monday (71) and Tuesday (96).
  • Saskatchewan announced 136 new cases of COVID-19 and three new deaths Tuesday. The province also extended public health restrictions until at least March 19. 
  • A COVID-19 outbreak has closed an Alberta slaughterhouse where one employee has died and 326 employees have tested positive. Of those, 192 remain active.  One week after loosening restrictions, Alberta reported 263 new cases on Tuesday, including 50 people who more were infected by highly contagious variants of the coronavirus. Those 50 variant cases were confirmed by testing from Friday to Monday, an average of about a dozen each day. The province also reported nine more deaths. 
  • A fourth COVID-19 variant may have arrived in Canada and experts say it comes with a concerning set of mutations that could circumvent the vaccine. B.C. health officer Bonnie Henry says the province is investigating a confirmed case of the variant, named B1525, in a young individual who had recently travelled from Nigeria. The virus has bee identified in 11 countries, including the U.K., Denmark, U.S., Belgium, Jordan, Ghana and Australia, according to data published by researchers at the University of Edinburgh.
  • British Columbia health officials reported 1,533 new cases and 26 deaths from COVID-19 on Tuesday. The numbers were from the Family Day long weekend.
  • So far today Canada has seen 829,441+ confirmed cases. There have been 21,354+ deaths from the infection and 769,929+ recoveries. There are 35,684+ active cases.
  • Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he had confirmed with Moderna that Canada is still on track to get 2 million doses of their COVID-19 vaccine delivered by the end of March.
  • The Canadian military is being deployed to the Canada-U.S. border to help set up COVID-19 test centres that the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) is creating at 16 border crossings. 
  • Globally, there have now been 109,263,150+ confirmed cases with 2,410,772+ deaths and 61,449,302+ recoveries.

Feb. 15

  • Quebec has now recorded 277,518 cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. The province reported 728 new cases today. So far 257,434 have recovered. The death toll is 10,229 with 16 more deaths reported. The number in hospital is 804, down one, with 136 in intensive care, up four. The province completed 22,649 tests on Feb.13 for a total of 6,310,313. Quebec has injected 294,886 doses of vaccine so far.
  • The Outaouais reported 17 new cases of infection for a total of 6,056, along with a total of 157 deaths. Some 5,765 cases have been resolved. There are 99 active cases.
  • Hearings for the Quebec coroner’s public inquiry begin Monday into deaths that occurred in nursing homes and other seniors’ residences during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. The next three days will be devoted to CHLSD Herron, a long-term care facility in Dorval, one of the hardest hit by the disease. Further hearings will take place in March.
  • Ottawa Public Health reported 59 new confirmed cases of COVID-19. The city has now seen 14,007 cases since the first wave of infections began. The death toll is 433, up one. Seventeen people are in hospital; three in intensive care. There are 438 active cases and there have been 13,136 recoveries. Ottawa Public Health is reporting COVID-19 outbreaks at 17 Ottawa institutions, including long-term care homes, retirement homes and hospitals and seven in schools and child-care centres. There are seven other outbreaks.
  • Because it’s Family Day, Ontario is not reporting daily numbers today. The province will report two days results on Tuesday.
  • Online threats made against Dr. Mustafa Hirji, the medical officer of health for Niagara Region have been denounced by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Ontario Premier Doug Ford.
  • All residents of a Mississauga condo will be tested after five cases of the South African variant were confirmed there, Peel Public Health Says.
  • So far today Canada has seen 826,942+ confirmed cases. There have been 21,311+ deaths from the infection and 769,951+ recoveries. There are 35,984+ active cases.
  • Globally, there have now been 108,705,199+ confirmed cases with 2,402,501+ deaths and 61,175,538+ recoveries.
  • An Israeli study of more than half a million fully vaccinated people indicated the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine offered 94 per cent protection against COVID-19, according to the country’s largest health-care provider.
  • Australia has suspended quarantine-free travel with New Zealand after it locked down Auckland following the detection of three new community cases. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Monday that genomic sequencing showed the new cases were the highly transmissible UK variant.

Feb. 14

  • Happy Valentine’s day.
  • Ottawa Public Health reported 45 new confirmed cases of COVID-19. The city has now seen 13,948 cases since the first wave of infections began. The death toll is 432. Thirteen people are in hospital; three in intensive care. There are 426 active cases and there have been 13,090 recoveries. Ottawa Public Health is reporting COVID-19 outbreaks at 18 Ottawa institutions, including long-term care homes, retirement homes and hospitals and seven in schools and child-care centres. There are seven other outbreaks.
  • Ontario has reported it has now seen 285,868 total cases of COVID-19, adding 981 infections today. The death toll rose by 42 to 6,693. There are 705 people in hospital, down 81, with 292 in intensive care, up five, 203 on a ventilator. There are 209 new cases in Peel, 171 in York Region and 122 in Toronto. There are 1,235 more resolved cases for a total of 267,128 recoveries.
  • The province has now identified 303 cases of the UK variant, six cases of the South African variant and one case of the Brazilian variant.
  • Ontario has administered 467,626 doses of vaccine; 174,643 people have been fully vaccinated with two doses of vaccine.
  • The province completed 48,701 tests the previous day. There have been 10,375,912 tests conducted so far. There are 15,947 tests under review.
  • There are 171 long-term care homes reporting an outbreak. There are 274 residents with an infection and 401 staff. So far in the pandemic, 3,797 residents have died because of COVID-19 infection.
  • Ontario’s vaccine taskforce says immediate priority for vaccination should now be given to adults over 80 years of age, staff and essential caregivers in long-term care, high-risk retirement and First Nations elder care homes, and any residents of these settings that have not yet received a first dose of vaccine. Hospital patients who have confirmed admission to a nursing home, high priority health care workers and Indigenous adults in remote communities are also now cleared to start receiving initial doses of a COVID-19 vaccine.
  • Quebec has now recorded 276,790 cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. The province reported 910 new cases today. So far 256,270 have recovered. The death toll is 10,214 with 15 more deaths reported. The number in hospital is 805, down seven, with 132 in intensive care, up two. The province completed 28,404 tests on Feb.12 for a total of 6,287,664. Quebec has injected 293,944 doses of vaccine so far.
  • The Outaouais reported 25 new cases of infection for a total of 6,039, along with a total of 157 deaths. Some 5,765 cases have been resolved. There are 99 active cases.
  • Newfoundland and Labrador reported 11 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 Sunday. The province has 296 active cases.
  • So far today Canada has seen 825,255+ confirmed cases. There have been 21,285+ deaths from the infection and 767,828+ recoveries. There are 36,656+ active cases.
  • The federal government will reach out to the provinces to discuss how the two levels of government can work together to boost Canada’s domestic vaccine manufacturing capacity, Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc told CTV.
  • The head of Pfizer Canada told CBC the pharmaceutical giant is entirely focused on meeting its upcoming delivery targets and that it’s possible the company could continue to accelerate shipments of its COVID-19 vaccine to the country. Pfizer has confirmed it will ship 403,000 doses the week of Feb. 15, 475,000 the week after that, and 444,000 doses in each of the first two weeks of March.
  • Globally, there have now been 108,705,199+ confirmed cases with 2,396,884+ deaths and 60,982,914+ recoveries.

Feb. 13

  • Ottawa Public Health reported 46 new confirmed cases of COVID-19. The city has now seen 13,903 cases since the first wave of infections began. The death toll is 432, up three. Thirteen people are in hospital; three in intensive care. There are 420 active cases and there have been 13,051 recoveries. Ottawa Public Health is reporting COVID-19 outbreaks at 18 Ottawa institutions, including long-term care homes, retirement homes and hospitals and seven in schools and child-care centres. There are five other outbreaks.
  • Ontario has reported it has now seen 284,887 total cases of COVID-19, adding 1,300 infections today. The province says some numbers from Toronto have been delayed meaning today’s case count is likely low. The death toll rose by 19 to 6,651. There are 786 people in hospital, up 23, with 287 in intensive care, down eight, 203 on a ventilator, down one. There are 433 new cases in Toronto, 253 in Peel and 116 in York Region. There are 1,434 more resolved cases for a total of 265,893 recoveries.
  • The province has now identified 297 cases of the UK variant, three cases of the South African variant and one case of the Brazilian variant.
  • Ontario has administered 456,947 doses of vaccine; 164,307 people have been fully vaccinated with two doses of vaccine.
  • The province completed 58,760 tests the previous day. There have been 10,327,211 tests conducted so far. There are 32,143 tests under review.
  • There are 174 long-term care homes reporting an outbreak. There are 294 residents with an infection and 437 staff. So far in the pandemic, 3,780 residents have died because of COVID-19 infection.
  • Quebec has now recorded 275,880 cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. The province reported 1,049 new cases today. So far 255,146 have recovered. The death toll is 10,201 with 28 more deaths reported. The number in hospital is 812, down 37, with 130 in intensive care, down seven. The province completed 33,453 tests on Feb.11 for a total of 6,259,265. Quebec has injected 290,953 doses of vaccine so far.
  • The Outaouais reported seven new cases of infection for a total of 5,996, along with a total of 157 deaths, up one. Some 5,734 cases have been resolved. There are 105 active cases.
  • Newfoundland and Labrador reported 26 more cases of COVID-19 as citizens are preparing for a mail-in only election after in-person voting was cancelled Friday night. Mailed ballots can arrive up the March 1, says Elections Newfoundland and Labrador.
  • A contagious variant of COVID-19 has now made its way to all 10 provinces in Canada, officials announced Saturday as the nation’s top doctor warned yet again of the dangers of lifting public health restrictions at this stage of the pandemic. Prince Edward Island confirmed its first case of the variant that originated in the United Kingdom on Saturday in a patient who was first diagnosed on Feb. 4 and has a history of international travel. 
  • So far today Canada has seen 823,048+ confirmed cases. There have been 21,213+ deaths from the infection and 765,043+ recoveries. There are 36,944+ active cases.
  • Globally, there have now been 108,357,853+ confirmed cases with 2,387,192+ deaths and 60,749,957+ recoveries.

Feb. 12

  • Ontario has reported it has now seen 283,587 total cases of COVID-19, adding 1,076 infections today. The province says some numbers from Toronto have been delayed meaning today’s case count is likely low. The death toll rose by 18 to 6,632. There are 763 people in hospital, down 120, with 295 in intensive care, down four, 204 on a ventilator, down seven. There are 361 new cases in Toronto, 210 in Peel and 122 in York Region. There are 1,415 more resolved cases for a total of 264,459 recoveries.
  • The province has now identified 275 cases of the UK variant, three cases of the South African variant and one case of the Brazilian variant.
  • Ontario has administered 442,441 doses of vaccine; 151,282 people have been fully vaccinated with two doses of vaccine.
  • The province completed 62,012 tests the previous day. There have been 10,268,451 tests conducted so far. There are 38,345 tests under review.
  • There are 180 long-term care homes reporting an outbreak. There are 339 residents with an infection and 465 staff. So far in the pandemic, 3,777 residents have died because of COVID-19 infection.
  • Ontario’s latest COVID-19 modelling shows the U.K. virus variant could cause up to 6,000 cases by the end of March in a possible third wave of infection in the province.
  • Ottawa Public Health reported 42 new confirmed cases of COVID-19. The city has now seen 13,857 cases since the first wave of infections began. The death toll is 429, up one. Nineteen people are in hospital; four in intensive care. There are 417 active cases and there have been 13,011 recoveries. Ottawa Public Health is reporting COVID-19 outbreaks at 20 Ottawa institutions, including long-term care homes, retirement homes and hospitals and seven in schools and child-care centres. There are five other outbreaks.
  • The province has confirmed that Ottawa will be reopening on Tuesday in the orange zone of COVID-19 restrictions. Only Toronto, York and Peel regions will remain in lockdown.
  • Gyms, restaurants, theatres and personal care services can reopen. In orange zones, restaurants and gyms are limited to 50 patrons at a time, and restaurants must close at 10 p.m.
  • The City of Ottawa will gradually reopen some services including on Tuesday: Public and lane swims at select pools, aquafitness programs, weight and cardio rooms, sport activities, older adult programming. Reservations, which are required for most of the above activities, will resume on Sunday. Also Tuesday, outdoor sports such as hockey on rinks where such activities are allowed with limits of 25 skaters at larger outdoor rinks and 12 at smaller rinks remain in place. Public skating at select indoor arenas will start on Saturday, Feb. 20.
  • Quebec has now recorded 274,831 cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. The province reported 984 new cases today. So far 254,001 have recovered. The death toll is 10,173 with 24 more deaths reported. The number in hospital is 849, down 25, with 137 in intensive care, down six. The province completed 33,587 tests on Feb. 10 for a total of 6,225,791. Quebec has injected 280,612 doses of vaccine so far.
  • The Outaouais reported 21 new cases of infection for a total of 5,989, along with a total of 156 deaths. Some 5,722 cases have been resolved. There are 111 active cases.
  • Western Quebec’s public health authority says it will be ready to open six COVID-19 vaccination sites by Feb. 22. The Centre intégré de Santé et Services sociaux de l’Outaouais (CISSSO) has prepared three main sites for high-volume vaccine delivery that will operate seven days a week at the following locations:Palais des Congrès de Gatineau, Buckingham Community Centre and the Wakefield Community Centre. Three additional sites will open five days a week: Whissell Sports Complex in St-André-Avellin, Que, Centre Multifunctionnel de Maniwaki and the Campbell’s Bay Recreational Centre.
  • Newfoundland and Labrador reports 50 new confirmed cases leaving 260 active cases. This is part of a surge that has caused delays in a provincial election in parts of the province.
  • Health officials in New Brunswick are reporting five new COVID-19 cases Friday, while the number of active cases in the province have dropped to 156.
  • Manitoba is reporting 81 new cases along with four new deaths.
  • There are 195 new cases of COVID-19 to report in Saskatchewan, along with two more deaths.
  • So far today Canada has seen 817,163+ confirmed cases. There have been 21,088+ deaths from the infection and 758,328+ recoveries. There are 37,747+ active cases.
  • The prime minister urged vigilance as COVID-19 variants begin to take hold in the country. Eight provinces have now reported cases of the variants. Most cases involve the variant first identified in the U.K.
  • The federal government says the country will receive 84 million doses of Pfizer and Moderna vaccines will arrive in Canada by the end of September. Procurement Minister Anita Anand says that the government has been able to accelerate delivery of these vaccines.
  • The prime minister says non-essential travellers arriving on international flights into Canada will have to have proof of a negative COVID-19 PCR test and then quarantine in a hotel at their own expense starting Feb. 22. Rules for non-essential travellers arriving at a land border crossing kick in on Feb. 15.
  • Globally, there have now been 107,458,667+ confirmed cases with 2,357,475+ deaths and 60,136,468+ recoveries.

Feb. 11

  • Ontario has reported it has now seen 282,511 total cases of COVID-19, adding 945 infections today. The province says some numbers from Toronto have been delayed meaning today’s case count is likely low. The death toll rose by 18 to 6,614. There are 883 people in hospital, down 65, with 299 in intensive care, down 14, 211 on a ventilator, down 15. There are 258 new cases in Peel, 116 in York Region and 112 in Toronto. There are 1,344 more resolved cases for a total of 263,044 recoveries.
  • The province has now identified 236 cases of the UK variant, three cases of the South African variant and one case of the Brazilian variant.
  • Ontario has administered 426,836 doses of vaccine; 136,988 people have been fully vaccinated with two doses of vaccine.
  • The province completed 68,812 tests the previous day. There have been 10,206,439 tests conducted so far. There are 43,383 tests under review.
  • There are 200 long-term care homes reporting an outbreak. There are 369 residents with an infection and 501 staff. So far in the pandemic, 3,769 residents have died because of COVID-19 infection.
  • Hours after the Ontario government announced that every long-term care home resident in the province had been offered their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, they now say that is not the case due to an “internal miscommunication.” Health Minister Christine Elliott confirmed the error at a news conference on Thursday.
  • Ontario Education Minister Stephen Lecce has announced a delay to the start of the annual spring break until the week of April 12.
  • In light of recent reports of COVID-19 vaccine queue-jumping, Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath says the provincial government needs better rules.
  • Ontario’s Financial Accountability Officer Peter Weltman projects the provincial deficit will grow to $35.5 billion in 2020-2021. That figure is forecast to drop to $16 billion by 2024-2025 and remain at that level moving forward, barring any government policy change, he said.
  • Ottawa Public Health reported 56 new confirmed cases of COVID-19. The city has now seen 13,815 cases since the first wave of infections began. The death toll is 428. Nineteen people are in hospital; four in intensive care. There are 413 active cases and there have been 12,974 recoveries. Ottawa Public Health is reporting COVID-19 outbreaks at 19 Ottawa institutions, including long-term care homes, retirement homes and hospitals and seven in schools and child-care centres. There are five other outbreaks.
  • Dr. Vera Etches is warning the people of Ottawa to “proceed cautiously” when the stay-at-home order ends Deb. 16 and the economy begins to open up after the Family Day long weekend.
  • The 211 service in Ottawa and across Canada is seeing a 30 per cent increase in calls for help accessing food, financial aid, mental health services and housing during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to statistics from United Way Centraide Canada.
  • Quebec has now recorded 273,847 cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. The province reported 1,121 new cases today. So far 252,651 have recovered. The death toll is 10,149 with 37 more deaths reported. The number in hospital is 874, down 44, with 143 in intensive care, down five. The province completed 32,207 tests on Feb. 9 for a total of 6,185,270. Quebec has injected 272,332 doses of vaccine so far.
  • The Outaouais reported eight cases of infection for a total of 5,968, along with a total of 156 deaths. Some 5,710 cases have been resolved. There are 102 active cases.
  • Newfoundland and Labrador now has reported 100 confirmed cases of COVID-19 as the virus surges in the province. As a result, the government has delayed voting in the Avalon Penninsula including St. John’s. The province is also extending the deadline for mail-in ballot to Feb. 25. The other 18 election districts will proceed with in-person voting as planned on Feb. 13.
  • New Brunswick is reporting two new cases and one death on Thursday.
  • Nova Scotia is reporting two new cases.
  • Manitoba is reporting 90 new cases and three more deaths.
  • The Manitoba government has committed to buy two million doses of a made-in-Canada COVID-19 vaccine currently under clinical trial. Premier Brian Pallister announced the purchase of the Providence Therapeutics COVID-19 vaccine on Thursday. He also blasted Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the federal government over their lack of a made-in-Canada COVID-19 vaccine supply, saying their strategy of Canada first was in danger of becoming “Canada last” due to vaccine delays.
  • Saskatchewan is reporting 114 new cases of COVID-19 today.
  • Alberta reported 352 new infections on Thursday, along with 16 additional deaths. The province also found 36 new cases of COVID-19 variants.
  • British Columbia health officials announced 449 new test-positive COVID-19 cases on Thursday, along with nine more deaths.
  • So far today Canada has seen 817,163+ confirmed cases. There have been 21,088+ deaths from the infection and 758,328+ recoveries. There are 38,242+ active cases.
  • The Toronto Raptors will play in Tampa for the duration of the NBA season, the team announces.
  • Ontario organizations that take donations of long hair to make wigs for sick children say they’ve seen an uptick in the number of donors, growth that’s at least partly attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic. CBC has more.
  • A month-long slowdown in Canada’s COVID-19 vaccine deliveries should end next week, with the single biggest shipment of vaccines from Pfizer and BioNTech to date. Maj.-Gen. Dany Fortin, the military commander overseeing Canada’s vaccine distribution, says Pfizer has confirmed it will ship 400,000 doses to Canada starting Monday. Over the next four weeks, Canada should get almost 1.8 million doses from Pfizer, and another 168,000 from Moderna. Moderna’s next shipment on Feb. 22 is only two-thirds of what it was supposed to be because of production problems with its Swiss plant.
  • Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister blasted Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the federal government over their lack of a made-in-Canada COVID-19 vaccine supply, saying their strategy of Canada first was in danger of becoming “Canada last” due to vaccine delays.
  • Globally, there have now been 107,458,667+ confirmed cases with 2,357,475+ deaths and 60,136,468+ recoveries.
  • Both the Pfizer and AstraZeneca COVID vaccines cut the risk of falling ill with the disease by 65 per cent after just one dose, U.K. government tests show.
  • At least 36 people have developed a rare, life-threatening blood disorder, called thrombocytopenia, after receiving either of the two vaccines authorized in the U.S. One of them, Miami obstetrician Dr Gregory Michael, died after thrombocytopenia caused his platelets to drop to virtually zero. He was just 56 and died of a brain hemorrhage just 16 days after receiving Pfizer‘s shot. 

Feb. 10

  • Ontario has reported it has now seen 281,566 total cases of COVID-19, adding 1,072 infections today. The death toll rose by 41 to 6,596. There are 948 people in hospital, up 39, with 313 in intensive care, down five, 226 on a ventilator, up three. There are 393 new cases in Toronto, 196 in Peel and 125 in York Region. There are 1,709 more resolved cases for a total of 261,700 recoveries.
  • The province has now identified 228 cases of the UK variant, three cases of the South African variant and one case of the Brazilian variant.
  • Ontario has administered 412,119 doses of vaccine; 125,725 people have been fully vaccinated with two doses of vaccine.
  • The province completed 52,504 tests the previous day. There have been 10,137,627 tests conducted so far. There are 41,725 tests under review.
  • There are 200 long-term care homes reporting an outbreak. There are 394 residents with an infection and 568 staff. So far in the pandemic, 3,760 residents have died because of COVID-19 infection.
  • Ottawa Public Health reported 26 new confirmed cases of COVID-19. The city has now seen 13,759 cases since the first wave of infections began. The death toll is 428, up one. Nineteen people are in hospital; five in intensive care. There are 402 active cases and there have been 12,929 recoveries. Ottawa Public Health is reporting COVID-19 outbreaks at 19 Ottawa institutions, including long-term care homes, retirement homes and hospitals and seven in schools and child-care centres. There are three other outbreaks.
  • The manager at the Stirling Park Retirement Community in Ottawa has been suspended amid allegations that a housekeeper at the home was bumped from the COVID-19 vaccine queue so the manager’s wife could be vaccinated instead. The Ottawa Citizen has more.
  • Three health units west of Ottawa will move into the province’s green zone today: Hastings Prince Edward Public Health, Kingston, Frontenac and Lennox & Addington Public Health and the Renfrew County and District Health Unit.
  • Quebec has now recorded 272,726 cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. The province reported 989 new cases today. So far 249,361 have recovered. The death toll is 10,112 with 34 more deaths reported. The number in hospital is 918, down 22, with 148 in intensive care, up three. The province completed 26,470 tests on Feb. 8 for a total of 6,153,063. Quebec has injected 266,590 doses of vaccine so far.
  • The Outaouais reported seven cases of infection for a total of 5,960, along with a total of 156 deaths. Some 5,684 cases have been resolved. There are 113 active cases.
  • Nova Scotia reported one new case on Wednesday. There are nine active cases in the province.
  • Newfoundland and Labrador is reporting 53 new confirmed cases and another 32 presumptive positives today. This comes as the St. John’s area is going into a two-week circuit breaker lockdown which includes a suspension of in-class learning. St. John’s voters, isolating because of potential exposure to COVID-19, will be able to cast their ballot from their cars on election day. Elections Newfoundland and Labrador is establishing a drive-thru isolation voting station. Election Day is Feb. 13.
  • New Brunswick is reporting 14 new cases of COVID-19.
  • Manitoba reports 59 new cases and six more deaths today.
  • Saskatchewan reported 180 new cases of COVID-19 and two new virus-related deaths Wednesday. 
  • Alberta confirmed 339 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, along with six more deaths.
  • British Columbia health officials announced 469 new test-positive COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, along with six more deaths.
  • So far today Canada has seen 813,846+ confirmed cases. There have been 20,998+ deaths from the infection and 752,418+ recoveries. There are 39,179+ active cases.
  • The federal government is promising cash-strapped cities $14.9 billion in permanent funding for their public-transit systems — though most of the money won’t start flowing until later in the decade. The cities will get about $6 billion of the amount right away for shovel-ready projects.
  • Globally, there have now been 107,002,486+ confirmed cases with 2,343,477+ deaths and 59,846,800+ recoveries.
  • Iceland recently became the first country in Europe to issue and recognize COVID-19 vaccination certificates, which it hopes will allow vaccinated individuals to travel freely within its borders and abroad. 

Feb. 9

  • Ottawa Public Health reported 25 new confirmed cases of COVID-19. The city has now seen 13,733 cases since the first wave of infections began. The death toll is 427, up one. Twenty-five people are in hospital; five in intensive care. There are 420 active cases and there have been 12,886 recoveries. Ottawa Public Health is reporting COVID-19 outbreaks at 19 Ottawa institutions, including long-term care homes, retirement homes and hospitals and six in schools and child-care centres. There are two other outbreaks.
  • Ottawa has its first confirmed case of the B.1.351 variant of COVID-19, which was first identified in South Africa. Six cases of the B.1.1.7 variant — first identified in the U.K.— have been confirmed to date.
  • Ottawa’s Board of Health has voted to ask the Ontario government to institute paid sick days for workers.
  • Ontario has reported it has now seen 280,494 total cases of COVID-19, adding 1,022 infections today. The death toll rose by 17 to 6,555. There are 909 people in hospital, up eight, with 318 in intensive care, down 17, 223 on a ventilator, down three. There are 343 new cases in Toronto, 250 in Peel and 128 in York Region. There are 1,388 more resolved cases for a total of 259,991 recoveries.
  • The province has now identified 227 cases of the UK variant, three cases of the South African variant and one case of the Brazilian variant.
  • Ontario has administered 398,633 doses of vaccine; 115,529 people have been fully vaccinated with two doses of vaccine.
  • The province completed 30,798 tests the previous day. There have been 10,085,123 tests conducted so far. There are 33,273 tests under review.
  • There are 205 long-term care homes reporting an outbreak. There are 459 residents with an infection and 651 staff. So far in the pandemic, 3,747 residents have died because of COVID-19 infection.
  • Calabogie Peaks Resort will open to skiers Thursday. The hill about an hour west of Ottawa will be one of two in Ontario allowed to open this week, along with Batawa Ski Hill north of Trenton.
  • The Ontario government announced Monday that teams competing in the NHL’s all-Canadian North Division will be permitted to dine inside certain Ontario restaurants despite ongoing stay-at-home orders within the province because of the league’s strict COVID-19 testing policy.
  • Quebec has now recorded 271,737 cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. The province reported 826 new cases today. So far 250,652 have recovered. The death toll is 10,078 with 32 more deaths reported. The number in hospital is 940, down 29, with 145 in intensive care, down 15. The province completed 18,512 tests on Feb. 7 for a total of 6,132,644. Quebec has injected 262,594 doses of vaccine so far.
  • The Outaouais reported seven cases of infection for a total of 5,960, along with a total of 156 deaths. Some 5,684 cases have been resolved. There are 113 active cases.
  • Quebec announced Tuesday it had identified two new cases of the South African variant in Abitibi-Témiscamingue, in addition to the eight cases of the U.K. variant previously identified. 
  • Newfoundland and Labrador has confirmed 30 new cases of COVID-19. The province has 57 active cases. Public Health has implemented a ‘two-week circuit breaker’ for St. John’s-Metro region.
  • Nova Scotia reported one new case of the coronavirus on Tuesday and said nine cases remain active in the province. Nova Scotia has imposed a 14-day quarantine on people arriving in the province from Newfoundland.
  • Manitoba announced 75 new cases and three more deaths from COVID-19 on Tuesday, along with the province’s first case of infection by the U.K. variant of the virus. Meanwhile, the premier announced the province will reopen gyms, restaurants, nail salons and places of worship and allow some sports to resume Friday so long as pandemic protocols are followed.
  • Saskatchewan reported five more residents who tested positive for COVID-19 have died, in addition to 80 new cases.
  • Alberta is reporting 195 new cases and 12 more deaths.
  • Police have charged Pastor James Coates of GraceLife Church west of Edmonton, Alberta, after the church opened for two weekends in a row after a public health order was issued for its closure.
  • British Columbia health officials announced 435 new test-positive COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, along with four more deaths.
  • So far today Canada has seen 810,796+ confirmed cases. There have been 20,908+ deaths from the infection and 748,498+ recoveries. There are 40,175+ active cases.
  • Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says starting Feb 15, any non-essential traveller arriving in Canada by land will need to show a recent negative COVID-19 test. Without the test, a person could be in for a fine of up to $3,000. The latest statistics from the Canada Border Services Agency show that since the end of March 2.9 million people, excluding truck drivers, entered through a land border crossing, while 2.4 million arrived by airplane.
  • Self-employed Canadians who used a gross income number to apply for the Canada Emergency Response Benefit and faced repaying thousands of dollars in CERB money will be let off the hook, the prime minister announced today, as long as they meet specific criteria for the benefit. Those self-employed who earned more than $75,000 will get a one year holiday from any interest owed.
  • Health Canada has agreed with a request from Pfizer to recognize that each vial of the company’s vaccine includes six doses, not five. The labelling change means more shots can be squeezed out of each vial with the use of low dead-volume syringes which the federal government is now supplying to the provinces. It also means the company can ship fewer vials and still meet its contractual obligations to send a certain number of doses to Canada.
  • The prime minister says “tens of thousands” of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine will arrive in Canada this week. About 70,000 doses will arrive this week; 400,000 doses will be distributed next week and 475,000 doses in the last week of February, says Maj.-Gen. Dany Fortin, who is running Canada’s vaccine distribution program..
  • Air Canada is laying off more than 1,500 workers and shutting down 17 routes, most of them for international destinations.
  • Globally, there have now been 106,585,708+ confirmed cases with 2,328,383+ deaths and 59,514,849+ recoveries.
  • A World Health Organization panel (WHO) of experts has recommended the use of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine in settings where variants of the coronavirus are circulating.

Feb. 8

  • Ontario has reported it has now seen 279,472 total cases of COVID-19, adding 1,265 infections today. The death toll rose by 33 to 6,538. There are 901 people in hospital, down 25, with 335 in intensive care, 226 on a ventilator, down seven. There are 421 new cases in Toronto, 256 in Peel and 130 in York Region. There are 1,700 more resolved cases for a total of 258,603 recoveries.
  • The province has now identified 219 cases of the UK variant, one case of the South African variant and one case of the Brazilian variant.
  • Ontario has administered 386,171 doses of vaccine; 106,163 people have been fully vaccinated with two doses of vaccine.
  • The province completed 28,303 tests the previous day. There have been 10,054,325 tests conducted so far. There are 10,693 tests under review.
  • There are 213 long-term care homes reporting an outbreak. There are 494 residents with an infection and 686 staff. So far in the pandemic, 3,740 residents have died because of COVID-19 infection.
  • A Toronto resident, who recently travelled from Brazil, has tested positive for the COVID variant that is spreading in the South American nation. The individual is now in hospital, Toronto Public Health says.
  • Ontario Premier Doug Ford has announced a relaxation of the lockdown restrictions in the province. All health units except Toronto, Peel and York will be able to reopen gradually starting by Feb. 16. Some areas including Kingston and Renfrew Country will re-enter the green zone on Wednesday. The state of emergency was to expire Tuesday. At that point the regions will transition back to the government’s colour-coded restrictions system over the next three weeks. 
  • The province is including an “emergency brake” system in the process that will allow for a quick shutdown of a region of COVID surges as the new variants threaten to do.
  • The premier sported a Toronto Maple Leafs mask at the briefing today. We expect him to wear a Senators mask at the next opportunity.
  • Ottawa Public Health reported 38 new confirmed cases of COVID-19. The city has now seen 13,708 cases since the first wave of infections began. The death toll is 426, up two. Twenty-three people are in hospital; six in intensive care. There are 456 active cases and there have been 12,826 recoveries. Ottawa Public Health is reporting COVID-19 outbreaks at 21 Ottawa institutions, including long-term care homes, retirement homes and hospitals and five in schools and child-care centres. There are two other outbreaks.
  • Since last summer, St. Faustina church in Cumberland has been offering drive-in services in its parking lot every Sunday. CBC has more.
  • Quebec has now recorded 270,911 cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. The province reported 853 new cases today. So far 249,361 have recovered, 1,193 in the past 24 hours. The death toll is now 10,046 with 17 more deaths reported. The number in hospital is 969, up six, with 160 in intensive care, up two. The province completed 22,502 tests on Feb. 6 for a total of 6,114,112. Quebec has injected 259,188 doses of vaccine so far.
  • The Outaouais reported 11 cases of infection for a total of 5,942, along with a total of 156 deaths. Some 5,669 cases have been resolved. There are 117 active cases.
  • In Quebec, non-essential businesses and museums can open, but the provincial curfew remains in force.
  • Newfoundland and Labrador reports 11 new cases of COVID-19. The large number of cases, the most since April 2020, has prompted a number of special orders for the St. John’s area, including suspension of group and team sports, arts and cultural activities, including band, choir and dance classes. Residents in long term care homes can now only have 2 visitors, and there will be no group activities.
  • Health officials in Nova Scotia identified one new case of COVID-19 on Monday. Eight active cases remain in the province. Nova Scotia is relaxing restrictions today including allowing retail businesses and fitness facilities to open to 75 per cent capacity and performing arts venues and sporting events to be able to host crowds of 150 outdoors and 100 indoors.
  • New Brunswick’s chief medical officer of health, Dr. Jennifer Russell, reported two new cases on Monday, the lowest daily case count since New Year’s Day.
  • Manitoba is reporting 53 cases today along with four more deaths.
  • Saskatchewan recorded 171 new cases on Monday, along with two more deaths.
  • Some restrictions are lifting today in Alberta including on gyms, restaurants for in-person dining, although there are seating limits, and  it had added “limited school and minor sport training” as well as eased restrictions of dance and gymnastic classes. Alberta reported 269 new cases along with five more deaths.
  • British Columbia health officials have reported 1,236 new cases and 13 deaths more from COVID-19 since the last update on Feb. 5.
  • So far today Canada has seen 809,036+ confirmed cases. There have been 20,839+ deaths from the infection and 741,659+ recoveries. There are 44,727+ active cases.
  • Globally, there have now been 106,227,670+ confirmed cases with 2,318,696+ deaths and 59,250,298+ recoveries.
  • South Africa has suspended the rollout of the AstraZeneca vaccine because of a study that indicates the vaccine is not that effective against the variant that is dominant in the country. The vaccine seems to be effective against the UK variant currently dominant in Britain. Canada is on the verge of approving this week the vaccine for use in Canada. The vaccine is the centre of a debate in Canada because the federal government is drawing 1.9 million doses from the COVAX stockpile.

For COVID-19 news from Dec. 2 to Feb. 8, please see capitalcurrent.ca/tracking-covid-19-dec-2/

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