Canada's Covid

From the CBC:

“Coronavirus: What's happening in Canada and around the world on Saturday”

Canada marked a pandemic vaccination milestone on Saturday, as half of the population has now received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. An accelerated vaccine rollout in Ontario has helped drive up numbers, with Premier Doug Ford tweeting that the province delivered a record daily high of 190,129 doses on Friday. Despite the milestone, CBC's vaccination tracker and federal figures show that less than five per cent of the national population is fully vaccinated against the virus.

In Manitoba, Premier Brian Pallister is again calling on the United States government to let states ship surplus doses of COVID-19 vaccines to Canada, as the province contends with surging case numbers that have pushed the health-care system to its limits. At a rare Saturday morning news conference, Pallister said the province was working on a plan with North Dakota to ship thousands of vaccine doses from that state up to Manitoba, but it was "kiboshed" by the White House, which needs to approve such requests. "I'm advocating for the United States and the White House in particular to get out of the way and let the states and provinces co-operate on getting vaccines that are in freezers in the United States up into Canada, into arms," he said. The province has asked Ottawa to send critical care nurses, respiratory therapists and contact tracers to help battle its rising third wave of COVID-19. As of Saturday afternoon, health officials were reporting that seven intensive care patients from Manitoba have been transferred to hospitals in Ontario to free up space. Pallister's comments came as the province reported 476 new cases and six new deaths on Saturday, including what appears to be the first person in Manitoba to die after contracting the P1 coronavirus variant associated with Brazil. There are now 298 COVID-19 patients hospitalized in the province, including 74 in intensive care units. To combat the surge in infections, the province has brought in new restrictions starting this long weekend. Manitobans are prohibited from gathering outdoors with people from outside their household, and only one person per household will be permitted to enter a business at a given time.

Restrictions ease in some provinces But it's not all bad news across the country. People across Ontario are getting ready to spend more time outdoors this holiday weekend now that the province has eased some of its COVID-19 restrictions. Golf courses and other outdoor recreational facilities, including tennis and basketball courts, can reopen. Alberta, which, like Ontario, is seeing an overall decline in new COVID-19 cases, will welcome back all K-12 students to classrooms next week, except those in the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo. And starting early next week, Yukon will begin lifting some of its COVID-19 restrictions because of the territory's high uptake in vaccinations, with about 76 per cent of eligible residents receiving their first dose. Canadians are making "steady progress" in bringing down COVID-19 numbers, but they must remain vigilant this long weekend to prevent a resurgence, Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam said in a statement on Saturday. Tam said there are now more than 30 per cent fewer active cases in Canada compared with the peak of the pandemic's third wave in mid-April. "However, as COVID-19 activity remains elevated in many jurisdictions, strong public health measures must be sustained where COVID-19 is circulating, and individual precautions are important everywhere to drive infection rates down to low and manageable levels, while getting our vaccination rates as high as possible," she said. "Further, as resurgences have followed social gatherings during past long weekends and holidays, maintaining precautions this long weekend remains critical for sustaining our progress."

What's happening in Canada around the world As of 6 p.m. ET on Saturday, Canada had reported 1,355,765 confirmed cases of COVID-19, with 55,277 considered active. A CBC News tally of deaths stood at 25,203. Ontario reported 1,794 new cases and 20 new deaths on Saturday. Hospitalizations due to COVID-19 continue to decline, with 1,207 patients hospitalized across the province, including 706 in the ICU, according to provincial data. Quebec reported 505 new cases on Saturday — its lowest single-day increase since Sept. 23 — along with seven new deaths.  New Brunswick reported two new COVID-19 cases on Saturday. The update came a day after the province's chief medical officer of health, Dr. Jennifer Russell, announced that a second person in the province has died from a rare blood clot associated with the AstraZeneca-Oxford COVID-19 vaccine. Nova Scotia reported 64 new cases and one new death, while Newfoundland and Labrador reported four new cases. Prince Edward Island had yet to provide an update. In the North, Nunavut on Saturday reported one new case of COVID-19. There are 39 active cases in the territory — 38 in Iqaluit and one in Kinngait, Premier Joe Savikataaq tweeted. Yukon and the Northwest Territories had not yet provided updated figures for the day. Saskatchewan reported 180 new cases and two new deaths on Saturday, while Alberta recorded 621 cases and six new deaths.  British Columbia on Friday reported 420 new cases and six related deaths.

^ There was more to this article (about Covid outside of Canada) but I wanted to focus only on Canada. ^

https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/coronavirus-covid19-canada-world-may22-2021-1.6037452