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Canada's chief public health officer is pointing to the country's accelerating vaccine campaign as a reason for optimism amid the COVID-19 pandemic but warned Canadians not to be complacent in order to curb the spread of the coronavirus and its variants.
Dr. Theresa Tam said in a statement on Saturday that more than 2.2 million vaccine doses have been administered across Canada as of Friday and that cases have "levelled off" after experiencing a decline from mid-January through mid-February.
But she noted that these encouraging signs don't mean pandemic challenges have ended, and she urged Canadians to continue following public health guidance and practising individual precautionary measures in order for the country "to realize all the benefits that [vaccines] can bring."
"Until vaccine access fully expands and sufficient levels of population immunity are achieved, and with the continued increase of cases and outbreaks associated with more contagious variants, we must all remain vigilant with public health measures and individual precautions to prevent a rapid shift in trajectory of the epidemic," Tam said.
1/2 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/COVID19?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#COVID19</a> key concerns in 🇨🇦 : with continued public health measures/precautions to keep infection rates ↓, <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/COVIDvaccines?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#COVIDvaccines</a> give us growing optimism that we can achieve significant protection across the population in the weeks & months ahead.<a href="https://t.co/TDJCVWM7d2">https://t.co/TDJCVWM7d2</a>
—@CPHO_CanadaTam's comments come as some provinces are speeding up their inoculation plans following the approval of a fourth vaccine in Canada and increased supplies.
On Friday, federal officials announced expedited shipments of 3.5 million doses of the COVID-19 shot from Pfizer-BioNTech, the same day Health Canada approved Johnson & Johnson's vaccine candidate, which is not expected to ship before April.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Pfizer doses originally set to arrive in the summer would instead be delivered over the spring. He said Canada should have eight million doses available of several vaccine types by the end of March.
Those adjusting their timetables for vaccine rollouts include Ontario. The head of the province's COVID-19 task force, retired general Rick Hillier, said on Friday he hopes everyone who wants a vaccine will get one by the start of summer.
He said all adults in Ontario could receive the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine by June 20 now that extra doses are on their way to Canada.
Meanwhile, Manitoba announced that all eligible adults in the province could have at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine by mid-May or the end of June at the latest.
In New Brunswick, chief medical officer of health Dr. Jennifer Russell said Friday that with the expected arrival of the province's first shipment of the two-dose AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine later this month, New Brunswick is pledging to provide one dose of COVID-19 vaccine to every New Brunswicker before the end of June.
Alberta has also revised its estimates around vaccines, with Health Minister Tyler Shandro saying on Thursday that the province expects "to have offered every single adult in the province at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine" by June 30.
What's happening in Canada
As of 2 p.m. ET on Saturday, Canada had reported 883,589 cases of COVID-19, with 29,861 cases considered active. A CBC News tally of deaths stood at 22,209.
Manitoba on Saturday confirmed 71 more cases of COVID-19 and one more death from the illness.
Ontario registered 990 new cases and six new deaths.
Quebec reported 749 new cases and 10 additional deaths.
New Brunswick confirmed six new cases as the entire province prepares to return to the less-restrictive yellow phase at the end of the weekend.
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Nova Scotia also saw six new cases. They come a day after the province lifted some restrictions on the Halifax area.
Newfoundland and Labrador added two new infections, but active cases dipped to 87 due to 28 new recoveries.
Meanwhile, the province's Department of Health says its investigation to determine the source of the positive case in a health-care worker at the Charles S. Curtis Memorial Hospital in St. Anthony is ongoing. The case was first reported on Tuesday. The Health Department said more information will be provided as it becomes available.
Yukon has unveiled its strategy on what the territory will need to achieve before it will reduce or modify some of its COVID-19 restrictions, including changes to self-isolation requirements, expanding social bubbles and easing capacity limits inside bars and restaurants.
Nunavut reported four new cases on Saturday.
What's happening around the world
As of Saturday, more than 116.2 million cases of COVID-19 had been reported around the world, with more than 65.7 million of the cases listed on the Johns Hopkins University tracking site as resolved. The global death toll stood at more than 2.5 million.
In Asia, the Dalai Lama, the 85-year-old Tibetan spiritual leader, has received his first shot of the coronavirus vaccine at a hospital in the north Indian hill town of Dharamshala. After receiving the injection, he urged people to come forward, be brave and get vaccinated.
In Europe, COVID-19 patients from hard-hit Slovakia are arriving in Germany for treatment. Patients from France, Italy, the Netherlands and Belgium have previously gone to Germany for treatment during the pandemic.
In the Americas, U.S. senators have worked through the night on the $1.9 trillion US COVID-19 aid bill, dispensing with a variety of mostly Republican amendments in a marathon series of votes without substantially changing the overall package.
In Africa, Nigeria, Kenya and Rwanda have started inoculating front-line health-care workers and vulnerable citizens against COVID-19. Rwanda is the first country on the continent to use Pfizer's doses that require ultra-cold storage.
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiVGh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmNiYy5jYS9uZXdzL3dvcmxkL2Nvcm9uYXZpcnVzLWNvdmlkMTktY2FuYWRhLXdvcmxkLW1hcmNoNi0yMDIxLTEuNTkzOTY4MNIBIGh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmNiYy5jYS9hbXAvMS41OTM5Njgw?oc=5
2021-03-06 18:51:49Z
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