The latest:
- Officials say majority of Canadians could be vaccinated by next September.
- Federal government to enlist the military to help with vaccine distribution.
- Manitoba hospital ICUs operating over capacity due to rise in COVID-19 cases.
- Nearly 100 cases of infection reported at Saskatoon Correctional Centre.
- Alberta again breaks records for hospitalizations, ICU patients.
- Have a coronavirus question or news tip for CBC News? Email us at COVID@cbc.ca
It’s important the COVID-19 vaccine reaches all Canadians “no matter where they live,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Friday.
A majority of Canadians could be inoculated by September “if all goes according to plan,” he added.
Trudeau said as Canada prepares for “the biggest immunization exercise in the country,” it will enlist the help of a former NATO commander to lead the distribution effort.
WATCH | Ottawa outlines its COVID-19 vaccine rollout plan:
Federal government officials say three million Canadians could be vaccinated in early 2021, but warn any timelines are uncertain and emphasize that no vaccine has been approved for use in Canada.2:31
Trudeau named Maj.-Gen. Dany Fortin to lead the military’s role in co-ordinating logistics that include cold storage requirements, data sharing, and reaching Indigenous communities.
Trudeau said the federal government has already purchased freezers capable of storing vaccine doses at -70 C.
WATCH | Senior military commander to lead vaccine distribution:
The Canadian Forces general in charge of planning and logistics for Canada’s vaccine rollout was announced Friday. But it raises questions about why military officers are needed at all.2:09
Deputy chief public health officer Dr. Howard Njoo said as many as six million doses could be deployed in the first three months of 2021. Each patient will need two doses of Pfizer’s vaccine, which Health Canada says could win approval next month because its review is in the most advanced stage out of the three leading candidates.
Federal officials warned any timelines are uncertain and emphasize that no vaccine has been approved for use in Canada.
The update on a vaccine rollout came as Ontario reported a new, single-day record of 1,855 cases, and 20 more deaths on Friday.
WATCH | Ontario prepares vaccine plan amid record-high new cases:
Ontario reported a record-high 1,855 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday. The head of the province’s vaccine task force says he aims to be ready for vaccine distribution by the end of the year, though the vaccine may not yet have arrived.5:04
The province reported completing just over 58,000 tests, the most tests Ontario has ever conducted in one day.
Quebec reported 1,269 new COVID-19 infections and 38 more deaths linked to the virus on Friday, including nine that occurred in the past 24 hours.
Federal data showed that as of Friday, Alberta had the highest seven-day infection rate in Canada with 209 cases per 100,000 people.
Friday was the last day of in-school classes for junior and senior high-school students across Alberta. Students in grades 7 to 12 are all being shifted to remote learning, until Jan. 11, in a bid to slow the spread of COVID-19.
The province’s new measures also ban indoor social gatherings, limit outdoor gatherings to 10 people, restrict access to some businesses, and make masks mandatory at indoor workplaces in Edmonton and Calgary.
Kaycee Madu, Alberta’s minister of justice and solicitor general, said Friday that the province is empowering 700 more peace officers to help enforce COVID-19 public health orders.
Fines for breaking the rules can range from $1,000 to $100,000 in extreme cases that end up in court, said Madu.
What’s happening across Canada
As of 6 a.m. ET on Saturday, Canada’s COVID-19 case count stood at 359,064, with 60,666 of those considered active cases. A CBC News tally of deaths based on provincial reports, regional health information and CBC’s reporting stood at 11,894.
Manitoba announced 349 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday and 14 more deaths, the province’s second-deadliest day of the pandemic to date. Intensive care units across the province are operating at 152 per cent of their pre-COVID-19 capacity. A record high 322 people are in hospital with the illness, including 45 patients in ICUs.
WATCH | Manitoba’s top health official on recent COVID-19 deaths:
Dr. Brent Roussin, Manitobas chief public health officer, says COVID-19 deaths in the province have skyrocketed since last month.0:42
Officials overseeing the pandemic response on Manitoba’s First Nations says 630 new cases were identified over the last week alone. Nine new deaths were reported, bringing the total to 36.
The province announced stricter COVID-19 measures last week that prohibit businesses from selling non-essential items in stores and further restricted capacity at large retailers.
I repeat the same message daily. <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/StayHome?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#StayHome</a>.<br>This it is the action that matters the most right now. Only go out for essential reasons.
—@roussin_brent
The new public health orders also prohibit people from having anyone inside their home who doesn’t live there, with few exceptions.
British Columbia announced a single-day record on Friday with 911 cases of COVID-19.
Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry appealed for people to respect store and restaurant employees as she raised recent confrontations by aggressive customers who refuse to wear masks at indoor public places.
“If you are opposed to wearing a mask then I ask you to shop online, order takeout or stay outside or stay home and not put other people at risk,” she said.
Eleven more people have died in B.C., bringing the number of fatalities to 395, while a record 301 patients are in hospital.
WATCH | New mask mandate in B.C. a point of contention for some:
B.C.’s new mask mandate has become a pressure point in the province, as some people flout the rules or confront people for enforcing them.2:08
In Atlantic Canada, New Brunswick reported 12 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, while Newfoundland and Labrador reported four new cases and Nova Scotia reported nine new cases.
Prince Edward Island has not reported any new cases on Friday. Starting Monday, masks will be mandatory for staff and students in Grades 10-12 at all times inside a school building, including while sitting at their desks, with exemptions made for situations such as eating or drinking.
Nunavut reported four new cases of COVID-19 on Friday. The territory, which saw its first confirmed case earlier this month, has now seen a total of 159 cases.
The Nunavut government said it plans to spend $1 million toward community food programming, including extra funding for communities affected by the pandemic.
The Northwest Territories reported no new cases on Friday. There have been 15 confirmed cases in the territory since the start of the pandemic, all since recovered.
Yukon reported three new cases late Thursday, with two in Whitehorse and one in a rural community.
WATCH | Mental health biggest concern in Nunavut lockdown, community food centre exec says:
With Nunavut in the second week of a lockdown due to COVID-19, Wade Thorhaug of the Qajuqturvik Community Food Centre says the situation exacerbates the many long-standing issues in the territory, such as food insecurity and overcrowded housing.7:15
Saskatchewan reported 329 new cases and four deaths on Friday. Along with 208 recoveries, that brought the number of active cases to 3,263.
The Saskatoon Correctional Centre now has 99 cases of COVID-19 80 of whom are offenders and 19 of whom are staff.
WATCH | Some First Nations in Alberta now experiencing 1st wave of COVID-19:
Dr. James Makokis, a family physician in Kehewin First Nation, says historical traumas make lockdowns difficult for Indigenous people and pandemic fatigue is playing a part in the spike in cases.4:09
Kaycee Madu, Alberta’s minister of justice and solicitor general, said Friday that the province is empowering 700 more peace officers to help enforce COVID-19 public health orders.
Fines for breaking the rules can range from $1,000 to $100,000 in extreme cases that end up in court, said Madu.
British Columbia reported 911 new COVID-19 cases a new provincial record and 11 more deaths on Friday.
The latest update also includes a new record of 301 patients in hospital with COVID-19, including 69 in critical care.
Earlier Friday, the Vancouver International Airport announced a pilot project in which volunteer travellers are enlisted to take COVID-19 rapid tests before departing on their domestic flights.
What’s happening around the world
As of Saturday morning, there were more than 61.7 million cases of COVID-19 recorded worldwide, with more than 39.5 million of those considered recovered or resolved, according to a coronavirus tracking tool maintained by Johns Hopkins University. The global death toll stood at more than 1.4 million.
South Korea reported more than 500 new coronavirus cases for the third straight day on Saturday, the fastest spread of infections the country has seen since the early days of the pandemic.
The recent spike in infections came after the government eased social distancing restrictions to the lowest levels in October to support a weak economy, allowing high-risk venues like nightclubs and karaoke bars to reopen and spectators to return to sports.
Officials reimposed some of the restrictions this week and could be forced to clamp down on economic activities further if transmissions don’t slow.
India’s coronavirus infections dipped further with 41,322 new cases reported in the past 24 hours, and there was no signs of a resurgence as a result of a major festival two weeks ago.
The high point of new infections this week was 44,739 on Wednesday. Single-day cases have remained below the 50,000-mark for three weeks.
In the United Kingdom, the government is warning lawmakers who oppose strict coronavirus restrictions that the measures are the only way to avoid a surge that will overwhelm the health system.
A four-week national lockdown in England is due to end Wednesday, and will be replaced by three-tier regional measures that restrict business activity, travel and socializing. The vast majority of the country is being put into the upper two tiers.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson faces opposition from dozens of his own Conservative Party’s legislators, who say the economic damage outweighs the public health benefits. Some say they will vote against the measures in Parliament on Tuesday.
Cabinet minister Michael Gove said the measures were “grimly” necessary. Writing in The Times of London, he said there are currently 16,000 coronavirus patients in British hospitals, not far below the April peak of 20,000. Gove said a rise in infections would mean coronavirus patients would “displace all but emergency cases. And then even those.”
Britain has had Europe’s deadliest COVID-19 outbreak, with more than 57,000 coronavirus-related deaths.