Canada's COVID-19 cases: Ontario, Quebec see most hospitalizations since June; Manitoba reports another record-high increase
On Wednesday, Oct. 14, Ontario and Quebec both reported that they currently have their most patients in hospital since June. They also announced 96 and 407 new school cases among staff and students, respectively.
Manitoba saw another record-high case spike, as a concerning trend continues to develop in its capital. Among the Atlantic provinces, New Brunswick health officials have been able to identify the source for an outbreak in Moncton, which has resulted in 43 of the province’s record-high 90 active cases.
For more on today’s top stories and the spread of the novel coronavirus across the country, please refer to our live updates below throughout the day, as well as our COVID-19 news hub.
20,370 active COVID-19 cases in Canada: 189,385 diagnoses, 9,664 deaths and 159,351 recoveries (as of Oct. 14, 6:30 p.m. ET)
Alberta - 2,689 active cases (21,199 total cases, including 287 deaths, 18,223 resolved)
British Columbia - 1,496 active cases (10,892 total cases, 250 deaths, 9,112 resolved)
Manitoba - 1,374 active cases (2,925 total cases, 37 deaths, 1,514 resolved)
New Brunswick - 90 active cases (292 cases, 2 deaths, 200 resolved)
Newfoundland and Labrador - 8 active case (283 total cases, 4 deaths, 271 resolved)
Northwest Territories - 0 active cases (5 total cases, 5 resolved)
Nova Scotia - 4 active cases (1,092 total cases, 65 deaths 1,023 resolved)
Ontario - 5,884 active cases (61,413 total cases, 3,017 deaths, 52,512 resolved)
Prince Edward Island - 3 active case (63 total cases, 60 resolved)
Quebec - 8,534 active cases (88,994 total cases, 5,977 deaths, 74,483 resolved)
Saskatchewan - 254 active cases (2,199 total cases, 25 deaths, 1,920 resolved)
Yukon - 0 active cases (15 total cases, 15 resolved)
Nunavut - 0 active cases (no resident cases)
CFB Trenton - 0 active cases (13 total cases, 13 resolved)
Ontario sees active cases decrease, but a concerning stretch continues with an impact in hospitals
Ontario reported 721 new cases of COVID-19, but no new fatalities and 783 recoveries.
The province’s active case count decreased for the first in the past seven days. There are still 5,884 active cases in Ontario, the second most ever throughout the pandemic.
Another 700-plus increase is part of worrisome trend for the province. Before Sept. 28, it had never hit that mark, but since then it has done so on eight different occasions, which includes six times over the past seven days.
Of the most recent 721 patients, 270 are in Toronto, 170 in Peel, 79 in York and 39 in Ottawa. In addition, 41 new patients were identified in Hamilton, which continues to deal with a growing outbreak at a spin studio that has already been linked to 60 cases.
Of the province’s 5,884 active cases, there are 231 people in hospital, the most since June 29. That includes 64 who are in ICU, the most since June 25. In addition, there are 35 people who require a ventilator.
In K-12 schools around the province, there are 96 new cases. Fifty-one are among students, 13 are among staff, while the other 32 have not yet been identified by the Ministry of Health.
Since schools opened in September, there have been 1,040 total cases. Currently, of the province’s 4,828 schools, 421 have a reported case. Five schools are closed at the moment due to COVID-19.
Data delay breaks Quebec’s positive streak, hospitalizations and school cases on the rise
Quebec health officials have announced 844 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday and an additional 359 cases that should have been reported over the past three days, but weren’t due to a data delay.
It means that 923 cases should have been announced on Tuesday (up by 108), along with 1,056 cases on Monday (up by 213) and 980 on Sunday (up by 38). A day earlier, Yahoo News Canada noted that Quebec’s daily case count decreased over four straight days; that streak has now been reduced to two days due to the latest data delay.
Throughout the pandemic, no other province has ever recorded a 1,000-plus increase. Quebec has now hit that mark on four of the past seven days.
The majority of the latest 844 cases were found in Montreal (189), Montérégie (181), Quebec City (159) and in Chaudière-Appalaches (58).
One more person has died in the province’s latest 24-hour stretch, but officials also added five more victims from previous dates to its death toll. In addition, 749 more have recovered.
The updates bring the province’s active case count to 8,534 — which is still the highest in Canada. Of those currently infected patients, there are 488 in hospital, the most in Quebec since June 24. That includes 80 people in intensive care, which is down by five since Tuesday.
In schools around the province, there are 407 new cases that were reported by the province since the last update, 343 among students and 64 among staff. An additional 72 schools have reported their first infections, while 33 more class bubbles have been temporarily shut down.
Since schools reopened, Quebec has had 4,057 cases among students and staff across 1,135 schools. There are 2,020 cases that are considered active, as 375 more people have recovered in the latest 24-hour reporting period.
‘We just cannot succeed in this pandemic if people are out and about when they're symptomatic’: Manitoba reports a record-high spike
Manitoba health officials announced 146 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, which marks the second straight day that the province has reported a new record-high increase.
Of the most recent groups of 146 patients, 39 were identified on Monday and 107 on Tuesday, according to a press release.
One-hundred and fourteen of the patients were identified in the Winnipeg health region, which continues to be the province’s epicentre. Seventeen other cases were found in Southern Health, nine in Interlake-Eastern, four in Northern and two in Prairie Mountain.
Of its now record-high 1,374 active cases throughout the province, at least 1,200 are in the Winnipeg area.
Health officials did not hold a press conference Wednesday to discuss the latest spike, but they have pointed to worrisome trends that have been developing over the past few weeks.
"We see right now, especially in Winnipeg, very complex investigations — people with multiple venues that they've attended, sometimes multiple venues they attended while symptomatic,” Dr. Brent Roussin, the province's chief public health officer, said on Tuesday.
"We just cannot succeed in this pandemic if people are out and about when they're symptomatic."
Two weeks ago, the province imposed further restrictions in the city and surrounding communities, such as mask use in indoor public places and a 10-person limit for gatherings. Last week, licensed restaurants, bars, pubs in the region were forced to start closing earlier, while alcohol sales have been prohibited after 10 p.m.
Despite the additional restrictions, health officials are still seeing concerning trends — ones that they started to bring awareness to in September.
The province also reported two more fatalities, a man in his 80s and a woman in her 70s, both from Winnipeg. It increases Manitoba’s death toll to 37. Of the province’s record-high 1,374 active cases, 27 are in hospital and three in intensive care.
New record-high for active cases in New Brunswick; source of Moncton outbreak identified
New Brunswick health officials announced eight new cases on Wednesday, which increases its active case count to a record-high of 90.
It’s the third straight day that the province has reported its most ever currently infected patients.
Six of the latest patients were identified in the Campbellton region, while the other two are special-care home residents at Notre-Dame Manor in the Moncton region. Both regions have been experiencing outbreaks with 43 active cases each. As a result, there are a combined 470 people in self-isolation.
On Wednesday, chief medical officer of health Dr. Jennifer Russell said the source of the outbreak in Moncton involves someone who recently travelled, which rules out community transmission. The source for the Campbellton outbreak is still under investigation, but all the cases are linked.
Russell said it’s important to identify the source, because if there are three cases of community transmission within six days, it means that the affected regions will have to move to “red” on its COVID-19 restrictions scale. The restrictions would require people to return to single household bubbles, while all K-12 schools will be limited to virtual learning.
As part of her press conference, Russell announced that one more school in the Campbellton region was recently notified of a potential COVID-19 exposure. According to CBC, Aux-Quatre-Vents high school in Dalhousie is now the fifth school in that region to have a linked COVID-19 case.
Of the record-high 90 active cases, there are five people in hospital, which includes one person in intensive care.
Updates from the rest of the provinces
No new patients were diagnosed with COVID-19 in Nova Scotia or Newfoundland and Labrador, as their active case counts remains at four and eight, respectively. As of Prince Edward Island’s latest update on Oct. 13, there are three active cases in the jurisdiction.
Twenty-five new cases were identified in Saskatchewan throughout the North East, (seven), North Central (five), Saskatoon (four), Far North East (four), Regina (three), Central East (one) and South East (one) zones. Nine more people have recovered, which brings the province’s active case count to 254. That includes seven people in hospital and one intensive care. On Wednesday, Saskatchewan Health Authority also notified the public about potential COVID-19 exposures at nine different businesses in Prince Albert, Regina and Saskatoon.
Alberta health officials have identified 243 new cases of COVID-19 in their latest 24-hour stretch. A woman in her 30s has also passed away in the Edmonton zone, according to CTV News who received confirmation from Alberta Health. It’s the third person in the province under the age of 40 to pass away after contracting COVID-19. In the latest 24-hour stretch, 168 more people have recovered. It brings the active case count to 2,689. Of those currently infected patients, 1,473 of them are in the Edmonton zone, which is the province’s epicentre. There are currently 100 people in hospital and 14 in intensive care province-wide.
In British Columbia, 158 more patients have been diagnosed with COVID-19. In that same stretch, no one has died while 138 patients have recovered. It leaves 1,496 active cases throughout B.C., which includes 84 people in hospital and 24 who are in intensive care. The outbreak at St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver has also been recently declared over.
For a timeline of all cases before today, please visit this page.
