Coronavirus (COVID-19) National News

Canada surpassed 500,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Saturday as infections continued to surge while the vaccine rollout reached its final province.

TORONTO — Fear of contracting COVID-19 in hospitals or doctors' offices has prompted some moms-to-be to choose to take on midwives and have their babies at home, midwifery groups say.

OTTAWA — The federal government will distribute $30 million to Indigenous communities and about $65 million to local organizations across Canada to support food security during the COVID-19 pandemic, Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau said.

Federal officials say they're pushing manufacturers to accelerate shipments of more COVID-19 vaccine doses as calls grow to lock down more parts of the country for the holidays.

Support groups are warning repayment efforts could lead many to become homeless, and asking the government to grant amnesty for any of these youth who received the CERB.

Sixty-six per cent of respondents said they planned to get a shot when it becomes available to them.

OTTAWA — Jo-Anne Miner, a personal support worker at an Ottawa long-term care home, was the first in the city to receive the COVID-19 vaccine as the national capital rolls out its inoculation program.

Health Canada says the side effects from Pfizer's clinical trials were found to be "mild or moderate'" and included things like pain at the site of injection, body chills and feeling tired and feverish.

The latest numbers of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Canada as of 4:00 a.m. ET on Sunday, Dec. 13, 2020. There are 454,852 confirmed cases in Canada. _ Canada: 454,852 confirmed cases (73,028 active, 368,474 resolved, 13,350 deaths).

Authorities are cautioning Canadians against getting swept up in the excitement of the approaching COVID-19 vaccine rollout, insisting that dropping our guards could have deadly consequences as federal forecasts predict the outbreak's death toll coul