Coronavirus: What's happening in Canada and around the world on Friday
CBC
The latest:
Ontario posted another record high for daily coronavirus cases on Friday, reporting 9,571 cases.
That figure eclipses the 5,790 cases the province reported yesterday.
Provincial Health Minister Christine Elliott tweeted that 508 people are hospitalized with the virus, 355 of whom are not fully vaccinated or have an unknown vaccination status. On Thursday, there were 440 people in hospital due to COVID-19.
The number of people in intensive care units across the province due to COVID-19 hit 164. Of them, 136 are not fully vaccinated or have an unknown vaccination status and 28 are fully vaccinated, Elliott tweeted. Friday's total number of ICU cases is down by five from yesterday.
Dr. Kieran Moore, Ontario's chief medical officer of health, said earlier this week that record-high daily case counts were expected and will likely continue for several weeks.
On Thursday, Canada reported more than 20,000 new COVID-19 cases for the first time, a culmination of a record-shattering day that saw several provinces confirm new highs in infections.
For more details on how COVID-19 is impacting your community — including hospital data and the latest on restrictions — check out the coverage from CBC newsrooms around the country.
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Quebec, which recorded 9,397 new cases on Thursday, has reportedly decided to order millions more rapid tests itself rather than wait for deliveries from the federal government.
Sources told Radio-Canada the province has agreed to spend $86 million on the order, which could secure at least 12 million rapid tests. It is not known when Quebec will receive this order.
In the Western provinces, B.C. reported 2,046 new cases Thursday, a new high, after the province shut down bars, nightclubs and gyms Wednesday and banned gatherings such as weddings. It's the third day in a row that the province's COVID-19 case numbers have hit new highs. On Wednesday, a report from an independent COVID-19 modelling group said hospitalizations due to B.C.'s Omicron-fuelled fifth wave will reach unprecedented heights by around mid-January.
Alberta reported 1,625 new cases Thursday. The province's chief medical officer of health said Albertans should use rapid tests to confirm whether they have COVID-19 if they show symptoms, rather than booking PCR tests. She noted that lab capacity has been strained in Quebec and Ontario, where Omicron is causing case counts to spike.
Saskatchewan reported 194 new cases and one additional death Thursday.
Strong attendance and record sponsorship at the Northern Ontario Tourism Summit in North Bay is a good sign the industry is recovering from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, says Destination Northern Ontario.
A group of Halifax residents is asking the Nova Scotia Supreme Court to look at a provincial decision to greenlight a controversial Fall River development.
Parkside Drive is closed in both directions following reports of a sinkhole, Toronto police say.
The Quebec government will present its fall economic update today.
Aggressive patients and lack of security are making nurses feel unsafe in a rural Western Manitoba emergency union, says the Manitoba Nurses Union.
Saskatoon resident Delynne Bortis knew her commute to work Tuesday morning would be particularly difficult.
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The amount of money it takes for people to earn a living wage has increased across the province, according to a new report from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA).
The new owner of Ontario steelmaker Stelco says his company "will not disappoint the people of Hamilton and Nanticoke," where the business's major facilities are based.
A Winnipegger is warning others about an intricate scam she says she almost fell for.
Fort William First Nation is opposing a planned redevelopment of the Ontario Power Generation's (OPG) 117 year old Kakabeka Falls Generating Station, which is located in their traditional territory.