Coronavirus: What's happening in Canada and around the world on Wednesday - CBC.ca

The latest:

People in Nova Scotia are facing new rules Wednesday after officials imposed a provincewide lockdown for at least two weeks to deal with an uptick in COVID-19 cases.

Health officials in the province reported 96 new cases on Tuesday — a new single-day high.

COVID-19 and more transmissible variants are spreading "faster than ever before" in the province, Premier Iain Rankin told reporters.

The restrictions, which will be in place to at least May 12, call for strict rules around gatherings, sweeping closures and a shift to remote learning.

"We won't hesitate to use whatever means that we need to do," Rankin said Tuesday, noting that he has confidence that, "Nova Scotians, by and large, will follow these orders."

The province — which as of Tuesday was reporting 419 active cases — had eight patients in hospital, with three in intensive care.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday that the military will deploy 60 service members to assist at COVID-19 testing centres in Nova Scotia. The prime minister said the province requested the aid because of the rapid rise in cases, particularly in the Halifax area.

In New Brunswick, meanwhile, health officials on Tuesday reported 24 new cases of COVID-19 — with 21 of the cases in the Edmundston region. The province also reported another death, saying a person in their 20s has died from COVID-19 in the Moncton region. Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Jennifer Russell said the death is the youngest among the 36 COVID-19-related deaths in the province.

There were no new cases reported in either Newfoundland and Labrador or Prince Edward Island.

-From CBC News and The Canadian Press, last updated at 7:05 a.m. ET

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What's happening elsewhere in Canada

WATCH | Inside a Montreal ICU where COVID-19 patients are getting younger:

CBC News goes inside the intensive care unit of Montreal’s Jewish General Hospital where doctors say everyone — no matter their age — needs to take COVID-19 seriously. 6:23

As of early Wednesday morning, Canada had reported 1,194,995 confirmed cases of COVID-19, with 84,313 considered active. A CBC News tally of deaths stood at 24,065.

In Quebec, health officials on Tuesday reported 899 new cases and 14 additional deaths. COVID-19 hospitalizations in the province stood at 667, with 170 people in intensive care.

In Ontario, the auditor general will issue a report later Wednesday on nursing homes that have been ravaged by COVID-19.

Health officials in the hard-hit province reported 3,265 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday and 29 additional deaths. Hospitalizations stood at 2,336, with 875 people listed as being in ICU "due to COVID-related illness."

WATCH | Millions of rapid COVID-19 tests unused across Canada:

The federal government has published data showing only four per cent of rapid tests supplied to the provinces and territories have been used. 2:02

In the Prairie provinces, Manitoba reported 218 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday and no additional deaths, while Saskatchewan reported 224 new cases and six additional deaths.

Alberta reported 1,539 new cases of COVID-19 and an additional seven deaths due to the virus. According to the province, there were 635 people in hospital because of COVID-19, with 143 in intensive care, and no additional deaths. 

In British Columbia, health officials reported 799 new cases of COVID-19 and no additional deaths. COVID-19 hospitalizations stood at 500, with 164 in intensive care.

Across the North, Nunavut reported eight new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday. There were no new cases reported in Yukon or the Northwest Territories.

-From CBC News and The Canadian Press, last updated at 7:10 a.m. ET

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What's happening around the world

Wearing a mask to curb the spread of COVID-19, volunteer math teacher Yanina Lopez helps Oscar Martinez at a makeshift school set up by Guarani language professor Edgar Villalba in the Bañado Norte slum of Asuncion, Paraguay, earlier this week. (Jorge Saenz/The Associated Press)

As of early Wednesday morning, more than 148.7 million cases of COVID-19 had been reported around the world, according to Johns Hopkins University. The global reported death toll stood at more than 3.1 million.

In Europe, the European Commission's lawsuit against drugmaker AstraZeneca over vaccine supplies began at a Brussels court, where the bloc's lawyers pressed for immediate deliveries from all factories. The parties agreed to hold two more hearings on May 26.

In the Middle East, Iran has found three suspected cases of the coronavirus variant discovered in South Africa, its health minister said.

In the Asia-Pacific region, Pakistan recorded more than 200 deaths in a day for the first time since the start of the pandemic.

South Korea said it will offer some exemptions to mandatory quarantine measures for people who have been fully inoculated against COVID-19.

Volunteers set up food donations for workers inside a 'red zone,' which has stricter lockdown measures imposed due to a COVID-19 outbreak, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on Wednesday. (Cindy Liu/Reuters)

In Africa, Egypt's daily reported cases of coronavirus have surpassed 1,000 for the first time in months amid a surge in infections in the Arab world's most-populous country. The health ministry recorded 1,003 cases and 61 fatalities in the past 24 hours.

In the Americas, Mexico will produce Russia's Sputnik V vaccine domestically, its foreign minister said on a visit to Moscow.

A Senate inquiry into the Brazilian government's handling of the pandemic kicked off on Tuesday, with lawmakers launching what may be a major headache for the president ahead of next year's election.

-From The Associated Press and Reuters, last updated at 7 a.m. ET

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Coronavirus: What's happening in Canada and around the world on Wednesday - CBC.ca
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