Manitobans will be able to return to restaurants, go to church and meet with larger groups of people as the province brings in the first step of its COVID-19 reopening plan ahead of schedule.
Premier Brian Pallister says vaccination goals have been surpassed, so some restrictions will be loosened Saturday – a week earlier than planned.
More than 71 per cent of Manitobans have received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine and about 27 per cent have had a second dose.
The provincial government’s three-step plan will see public health orders loosened if vaccination rates are met by certain summer holidays.
Faith services, hair salons, gyms and sports will be allowed to open in the first step, but with capacity restrictions.
The number of COVID-19 infections has been steadily falling in recent days, after a delayed third wave saw surging case numbers and pressure on the health-care system.
More Ontarians living in hot spots for Delta variant eligible to book earlier second vaccine dose
More Ontario residents living in designated hot spots for the Delta COVID-19 variant are now eligible to book earlier second vaccine doses.Melissa Tait/The Globe and Mail
More Ontarians living in designated hot spots for the Delta COVID-19 variant are eligible to book earlier second vaccine doses starting today.
Health units covering Toronto, Peel, Halton, Porcupine, Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph, Waterloo and York, Hamilton, Simcoe-Muskoka and Durham are considered hot spots for the more infectious virus variant.
People in those health units who received a first dose of an mRNA vaccine on or before May 30 can move up their second shots today.
The provincial vaccine booking portal will open to those eligible at 8 a.m. this morning.
The province says some time next week, all adults who received a first dose of Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna’s product can book a second appointment as soon as 28 days after their initial shot.
Second doses were initially booked four months after the first in Ontario but the province is shortening that timeline as more vaccine is expected in province.
Ontario reports 255 new cases of COVID-19, 11 deaths, record high vaccinations
Ontario is reporting 255 new cases of COVID-19 today and 11 more deaths linked to the virus.
Health Minister Christine Elliott says there are 57 new cases in Toronto, 53 in the Region of Waterloo, and 25 in Peel Region.
She says there are also 23 new cases in the North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit region and 14 in Ottawa.
Today’s data is based on nearly 27,400 completed tests.
The Ministry of Health says there are 305 people in intensive care with COVID-19.
Elliott says that a record high of 227,318 doses of vaccine were administered since Tuesday’s report, for a total of more than 13 million.
Quebec reports 127 COVID-19 cases, three deaths as hospitalizations remain stable
New COVID-19 cases in Quebec crept back above the century mark today as the province reported 127 confirmed infections and three additional deaths attributed to the novel coronavirus.
The number of people in hospital and in intensive care both remained stable, at 161 and 40, respectively.
The province says another 97,047 vaccine doses were administered in the past 24 hours, with more than 7.5 million doses doled out since the mass inoculation campaign began.
As of today, all Quebecers age 18 and up can use the province’s online booking system to move up their appointments for second vaccine doses.
Health officials announced five new vaccine clinics would be offering the Moderna vaccine on a walk-in basis today for both first and second doses.
The clinics are located in businesses in the Quebec City, Monteregie and Chaudiere-Appalaches regions.
Top doctor says 85 per cent of Yukon’s COVID-19 cases among unvaccinated people
Yukon’s top doctor says the territory is in the spotlight once again as it deals with a surge of COVID-19 cases.
Dr. Brendan Hanley says Yukon was put on a pedestal over the past few months with no active cases and a high vaccination rate, but all eyes are on the territory now to see how it deals with a “significant” outbreak.
Hanley says over the past 14 days, there have been more cases in Yukon than in the first 14 months of the pandemic.
Of the 144 cases in the latest outbreak, he says 122 of them were among unvaccinated people ranging in age from one to 90 years old.
Hanley says the outbreak is likely linked to one case introduced around Victoria Day and it spread with gatherings in June, although it will be difficult to know when and who was the first case.
He says the new infections show that a 72 per cent vaccination rate is not enough to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and at least 80 per cent of the population should receive their shots.
Vaccine numbers in B.C. above 4.5 million, includes more than a million second shots
First-dose vaccine numbers in British Columbia have risen to above 75 per cent of the eligible population, with second-shot totals hovering near 25 per cent.
A joint statement from provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix says the increasing vaccine numbers allow for the gradual and safe reopening of the province with the lifting of more restrictions.
It says more than 4.5 million doses of vaccine have been delivered in total, and of those, slightly over one million were second shots.
There are 87 new COVID-19 cases across B.C., with no new cases in the Northern Health region and three new cases on Vancouver Island.
There has been one new death, bringing the total number of COVID-19 deaths to 1,744 people.
The statement says all vaccines available in B.C., including Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Oxford-AstraZeneca, are safe and effective and they significantly reduce the number of people getting seriously ill with COVID-19.
The Delta variant of COVID-19, first identified in India, is becoming the globally dominant variant of the disease, the World Health Organization's chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan said on Friday.
Reuters
Sign up for the Coronavirus Update newsletter to read the day’s essential coronavirus news, features and explainers written by Globe reporters and editors.